A York man has been jailed for over five years for sexually abusing a teenage girl.
Marcus Lee Noble, 26, appeared for sentence at York Crown Court yesterday (July 11) after a jury found him guilty of three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Prosecutor Mike Greenhalgh said that Noble had used a “degree of grooming” to sexually abuse the under-age girl in York.
He said that Noble, of Thornton Road, was 23 years of age when the offences occurred in 2022 and there was a great disparity of age between him and the girl.
The victim made disclosures to the police last year and said that Noble would say “sexualised things” to her regarding “what he wanted to do to her”.
Mr Greenhalgh said that in one instance, Noble exposed an intimate part of his body to the girl and made her perform a lewd act on him. He then sexually assaulted her.
In another incident, he pushed the girl against a wall and “kissed her in an adult way”.
Following his arrest, Noble refused to give police the PIN number for his mobile phone despite repeated requests and being served with a statutory notice to do so.
He was charged with failing to comply with a Section 49 notice to disclose the key to protected information and was committed to the Crown to be sentenced for that offence in addition to the sexual matters.
The victim, who can’t be named for legal reasons, said that Noble’s actions had caused her to “grow up much quicker” than she otherwise would have.
Defence barrister Andrew Semple said that Noble, a father-of-one, had long-standing mental health issues but had a previously unblemished record.
He said the prospect of jail “terrified” Noble who would not cope well in prison.
Judge Simon Hickey told the York man: “I take the view that the victim was a vulnerable individual and you would have known that, and to an extent you exploited that in the offences.”
He also noted the “significant disparity of age” between Noble and the victim.
Noble was jailed for five years and one month. He was placed on the sex-offenders’ register for life.
‘Lied from the beginning’
Detective Constable Marcus Furneaux-Harris, of York and Selby CID, said: “The victim in this case has shown maturity and mental strength beyond her years when telling police what had happened to her, in how she has coped with the length of the investigation, and especially when giving her evidence at court.
“No teenage girl should ever have to go through this, especially at the hands of a grown man who has lied from the beginning of the investigation.
“Noble took full advantage of her age and abused her for his own sexual gratification. The victim’s family have provided vital and constant support throughout her ordeal and I hope the sentence helps her in some way to moving forward with her life.
“Of note the conviction for failing to provide the passcode to his mobile phone should send a clear message to anyone who tries to frustrate a police investigation.”