Cornish man, 22, jailed for underage sex with two girls
A man from Cornwall has been jailed for four years for having sex with two underage teenage girls within hours of each other.
Farm worker Daniel Hawke, 22, from Hersham near Bude, had been living in a caravan in north Devon when the offences took place.
He had previously been cleared by a jury of raping the 14 and 15-year-old girls, Exeter Crown Court heard.
The judge told him he had maintained a “complete denial” about what happened.
Hawke, who was 21 at the time of the incident, admitted knowing the girls but claimed nothing of a sexual nature had happened.
However, prosecutor Andrew Oldland told the court that Hawke had told one of the girls: “It’s my house, my rules and I can do what I like,” before consensual intercourse took place.
He said Hawke had sex with one of the girls in the early hours of one morning and then sex with the second girl hours later.
In addition to his prison sentence Hawke has been added to the sex offenders register for life and banned from unsupervised contact with young girls.
March 2010
A FARM worker has been told he faces a jail sentence after being found guilty of sex offences with under-age teenage girls at his home.
Judge Jeremy Griggs yesterday warned Daniel Hawke, 22, he would face jail after he was convicted of two separate offences at his home near Holsworthy, North Devon. He was found guilty of two offences of sexual activity with a child but acquitted of six other charges, including rape.
Hawke, in a dark suit and tie, was calm as the verdicts were announced. He told police that he had never had sexual activity with either of the teenagers, from North Devon, who were both under 16 at the time.
Hawke, whose more recent address is Hersham in Bude, North Cornwall, was released on bail to be sentenced on a date to be set.
The defendant, who was living on a farm in the Holsworthy area at the time, had pleaded not guilty to eight charges. He had denied assault by penetration of one girl and a separate charge of raping her and was acquitted of these charges. The jury found him guilty by a majority of 11-1 of sexual activity with a child, as an alternative to rape.
Hawke denied two charges of raping the second girl and two alternatives of sexual activity with a child. He was acquitted of the two rape charges but found unanimously guilty of one of the alternative charges.
Both of the offences he was convicted of happened when the girls separately visited his home last year. But the jury rejected claims that Hawke had driven the second teenager to a layby on another occasion and had sex with her in a deserted shed.
During the trial, the court was told that Hawke told police he knew both girls but neither had been at his home.
Prosecutor Andrew Oldland told the jury: “What he’s saying is no sexual activity ever happened with either girl.”
The jury retired to consider its verdict on Friday and continued yesterday morning. Judge Griggs had told them at the start of the day that a majority decision would be acceptable.
Defence counsel Adam Feest asked for sentencing to be adjourned and said that his client was aware that he faced prison.
He asked that Hawke be released on bail and given a curfew which took into account that he needed to milk cows as part of his work.
Judge Griggs said: “I’m satisfied, bearing in mind his age and him having never been before a court, that I would need a report.”
He told the defendant: “It is inevitable it will be an immediate custodial sentence.”
Hawke must live at his current address, not contact any witnesses and must have an electronically tagged daily curfew from 8pm to 5.30am as part of his bail conditions.
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