A man who started dating a 13-year-old girl when he was 17 has been jailed for four years after she took her own life following an abortion.
Ashli Blake committed suicide one year ago, two years after she terminated her pregnancy.
The now 21-year-old man, Marcus Webb, who lives in Dorset, England, was arrested last year when police uncovered explicit photos on his phone of the young schoolgirl.
He has been jailed after admitting he incited sexual activity with a child and caused a child to take part in sexual activity. The court found he encouraged Ashli to perform lewd sex acts over Skype.
Webb remained adamant that he’d never engaged in sexual activity with her when she fell pregnant in 2012. After she had the abortion, Webb received a police caution but was never arrested.
Ashli Blake
Prosecutor Simon Jones told the court the terminated pregnancy worsened the teen’s mental health and played a factor in her death.
Ashli’s mother was against the relationship because of the age gap, and never allowed the two to be in Ashli’s bedroom. The mother said that her daughter had wanted to keep the baby, but she accepted advice and had a termination.
Webb sent Ashli cruel taunts after the abortion, including a Mother’s Day card that was reported to police.
Judge Brian Forster said to Webb: “I accept you were both involved in a relationship and I accept you were distraught and very upset by her death.
“However you exploited Ashli and forced her to carry out what are degrading sexual acts.”
Before Ashli took her own life, she texted Webb threatening to take her life before, containing the words: “If we can’t be together I don’t want to be here.”
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