A charity has called for a tough new law to better protect children online after a Workington man was jailed for having a sexual ‘relationship’ with a 14-year-old girl he met through Facebook.

The NSPCC spoke out after 21-year-old Joshua Sibbald was jailed for sexually exploiting the schoolgirl.

Despite knowing how young she was, Sibbald, who was 19 at the time, began a sexual ‘relationship’ with her that went on for weeks and involved repeated sexual contact.

When the schoolgirl tried to finish it, he threatened to kill himself, Carlisle Crown Court was told.

The defendant, now 21, of Salterbeck Drive, Workington, whose barrister described as “immature”, admitted eight counts of sexual activity with a child.

Commenting after the case, an NSPCC spokeswoman said: “Sibbald deliberately exploited his young victim’s vulnerability both on and offline to satisfy his own perverted intentions.

“Proper regulation of social media sites is vital to ensure that sexual predators like Sibbald are prevented from accessing young and vulnerable people online.

“The NSPCC continues to urge the Government to introduce a powerful Online Harms Bill to ensure social media companies can be held to account and create a safer internet for children.”

The truth about Sibbald’s activities finally emerged when the teenager’s mother decided to check her child’s phone messages, and discovered that she was talking to friends about her ‘sex life’.

Judge Michael Hayton QC told Sibbald that even though he appeared to have a genuine affection for the girl, his contact with her had been motivated by his desire to achieve sexual gratification.

Judith McCullough, for Sibbald, said his behaviour was more akin to that of a teenager. “This is not the kind of predator case we see all too often,” said the barrister.

But Judge Hayton said that there were elements of “grooming” and “blackmail” in the offences.

The judge accepted it was not a case where a much older man had preyed upon a much younger girl but he noted there was an element of “controlling behaviour” from Sibbald.

The judge told the defendant: “In my judgement, the whole purpose of you making contact with her, and, more significantly, pursuing contact with her, was to further your sexual gratification needs.”

If you are concerned about a child, call the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000.