Man who raped 12-year-old schoolgirl in his car after sending text messages for weeks has to go to prison

A 34-year-old man has been sentenced to prison after raping a Sandwell schoolgirl in the back seat of his car. Joshua Brown began texting his victim, who was just 12 at the time, after a friend gave him her phone number.

Evil Brown knew the girl was only 12 years old at the time, but continued to send her messages. Over the course of six weeks, thousands of text messages were sent.

Brown later traveled further to meet the girl before raping her in the back seat of his car. The girl told her mother what had happened several weeks later and the act was reported to the police.

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Brown, of Robin Hood Green, Kent, was tracked down via his car registration and arrested by the Metropolitan Police. He initially denied the offences, but police found the text messages on both his phone and the victim’s.

Investigators found that he repeatedly referred to her age because he feared going to prison. Brown was charged with two counts of rape of a girl under 13, sexual battery of a child, possession of indecent images of a child and solicitation of a girl under 13 to engage in sexual conduct.

He pleaded guilty to all offences at his first hearing on 19 June at Wolverhampton Crown Court. Brown was sentenced to nine years in prison, suspended for a further year, and must also face a sexual harm prevention order for 20 years.

PC Adrian Jackson, of West Midlands Police, said: “We commend the girl’s courage in coming forward and her persistence throughout the investigation. We have specialist officers who know how difficult it is to report crimes of a sexual nature and we are there to help victims at every step of the investigation and prosecution.”