A man has been jailed for two-and-half years for sexually abusing a teenage girl in Harrogate.

Sam Jordan, 26, appeared for sentence at York Crown Court today (November 6) for two counts of sexual activity with the under-age girl.

Jordan — who was about 22 years’ old and living in Harrogate at the time of the incident — was found guilty of one of those offences following a re-trial in September and pleaded guilty to the other offence.

Prosecutor Ian Howard said that Jordan sexually assaulted the girl at a property in Harrogate in 2022. The matter was finally reported to police in January 2023.

Jordan, formerly of Dragon Parade, Harrogate, but lately of Brigham, near Driffield, was brought in for police questioning but made no comment.

In a statement read out by the prosecution, the victim said that since the incident her life had “completely changed”.

She added:

The incident had caused her great distress and she had suffered flashbacks and nightmares.

Defence barrister Andrew Semple said that Jordan, a father-of-one, was an otherwise “pro-social” and hard-working man.

Recorder Chris Knox said the effect on the victim, caused by the offences and the delay in justice being delivered, had been “disastrous and catastrophic”.

He noted the “serious disparity of age” between Jordan and the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Mr Knox said that despite the “array” of character references, including from Jordan’s employer, which “speak highly” of the defendant, it had to be an immediate prison sentence.

Jordan, of Brigham Straight, was jailed for two-and-a-half years and placed on the sex-offenders’ register for an indefinite period.