A PENSIONER who groomed a 12-year-old girl from St Helens via social media and mobile phone has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Maurice McCullough, 75, will serve at least two thirds of the sentence, after pleading guilty to 11 counts of grooming, inciting a child to carry out sexual acts and carrying out sexual acts with a child.

After gaining his victim's trust online, McCullough eventually met up with her in the park. He also sent her explicit text messages, indecent photos and asked her to send him naked pictures.

At Liverpool Crown Court, Judge Robert Warnock said the “period of sustained sexual offences” was “one of the worst cases I've ever had the misfortune to deal with.”

Two witnesses, who brought the case to the attention of police after reporting McCullough and the girl behaving suspiciously in Sherdley Park in November 2014, were commended and will each receive a £500 award.

Charlotte Kenny, prosecuting, described how McCullough had befriended his victim in October 2013 via a pre-teen chat website, initially pretending he was 16. They then went on to conduct their relationship via mobile phone.

McCullough, who later told the girl he was 46, carried out the offences until November 30, 2014.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, the victim's mother said: “This is like a bullet.

“We are saddened by the thought of her innocence being taken away from her. The family is constantly on edge. The family is keeping up appearances but in reality we're all on edge.”

The victim, now aged 13, was described in court as “vulnerable” and had began to self-harm, due to being bullied at school.

Graham Robinson, defending, said McCullough – a father of two and grandfather - felt shame over his deeds.

Mr Robinson asked the judge to take the defendant's guilty plea into consideration when sentencing and added that McCullough had shown “some remorse”.

Sentencing him to 10 years, Judge Warnock said: “You courted your victim via the internet when she was 12 years old and you were in your 70s. You tricked her into believing you were 16 years old.

“The case against you is utterly overwhelming. This is one of the worst cases I've ever had the misfortune to deal with.

“She was physically injured by you.

“You corrupted a child, you stole her childhood, you may have damaged her psychologically for the rest of her life.”

Area Commander for St Helens, Chief Superintendent Julie Cooke, said: "This was an horrendous case which has left an entire family traumatised and in shock.

"Maurice McCullough is a sexual predator who went to extraordinary lengths to groom his victim, posing as a teenage boy online and communicating with her for weeks in order to gain her trust.

"He then went on to abuse her over a period of months. It is truly every parent's worst nightmare.

 "This case highlights how children can be exploited on social media sites without realising anything is wrong until it is too late. It also shows how important it is to know what your children are doing online and to encourage them to speak to you about the friendships they are making.

"Child Sexual Exploitation ('CSE') is a terrible crime which can affect any family, anywhere. We are, however, determined to play our part in tackling the problem. Only last week, as part of National CSE Awareness Day, we helped to launch, Listen To My Story, a campaign and website which is there to raise awareness of CSE among young people, parents, grandparents, in fact every single one of us.

"It will help victims to find the right kind of support and advice if they have suffered abuse in the past. It also has loads of information for young people to help them if they think they are being exploited, or if they are worried one of their friends may be.

"Everyone of us has to play our part in putting a stop to the sexual exploitation of children and we all need to know the signs to look for, including if they are regularly missing school, appearing with unexplained gifts, having mood swings or becoming secretive about their use of social media. If you are a child, you may think it's cool to get involved with older people but they may ask you to perform sexual acts or take photos of yourself in return and you may be pressured to keep these things secret. If we all look out for these signs and report any suspicions, we can break the cycle."

McCullough will be on the sexual offenders' register for life.​