LEEDS, England, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A judge in the British city of Leeds dropped statutory rape charges against a 25-year-old man since the victim lied about her age.
Leeds Crown Judge Jennifer Kershaw found the unidentified 12-year-old victim told Michael Graham she was a 19-year-old mother prior to their sexual encounter, The Daily Mail said Thursday.
While Graham had admitted to having sex with the girl in March after meeting her on an Internet social-networking site, he maintained he thought she was 19 years old.
Kershaw ruled Graham, who had been under a year-long court order as a result of the incident, was deceived after viewing pictures of the victim.
"It seems to me that this defendant was deceived," Kershaw said. "He was deceived in a number of material respects both beforehand and during their encounter."
"It is putting it too high to describe what she did as sophisticated but it was certainly deliberate, it was sustained and it was unfortunately effective."
