A CO ANTRIM father-of-two who embarked on a sexual relationship with a teenage girl for "a bit of extra-marital fun" has been jailed for nine months.
Judge Geoffrey Miller QC described Alan David McBride (40), of Long Rig Road in Nutts Corner, as a "selfish, self-centred man" who displayed very little empathy for his victim.
McBride, who owns a car dealership in Crumlin, pleaded guilty to meeting a child following sexual grooming and five counts of inciting the girl to be involved in pornography.
The charges relate to a period between July and August 2013. The latter charges related to images he asked her to send him.
The victim, who was aged 15 and then 16 - attended the same church as McBride. In the spring of 2013 he began grooming her and using sexual innuendos.
Prosecutor Neil Connor told Antrim Crown Court, sitting in Belfast, that McBride's advances progressed to text messages. McBride sent her images of women in lingerie or naked, with comments such as "I like women who dress up".
Mr Connors said the victim was "somewhat flattered" by the attention and reciprocated with text messages to McBride which included images of her naked.
McBride sent the teenager around 10 naked images of him around the period when she was 15 and after she turned 16 as well as "graphic text messages".
The pair met up in July 2013 for sex. After she turned 16, she and McBride began a consensual sexual relationship.
Mr Connors said the relationship continued for around five months - until McBride began a sexual relationship with one of her friends.
The victim, now 21, went to police in June 2016. McBride was arrested. He told police he had been in a sexual relationship with the teenager but said he believed she was 16 and described their relationship as "a bit of extra-marital fun".
Charles MacCreanor QC, defending, handed character references to the court. He said his client was "shamed and disgusted by what he has done and how he has behaved".
He said McBride came before the court with a clear record.
Mr MacCreanor spoke of the impact the offending has had on McBride's domestic situation and on his business as "people don't want to associate with him because of the nature of the allegations".
McBride has not seen his children since the offending emerged, the court was told.
The judge said that after reading a pre-sentence report, he felt McBride had displayed "an apparent lack of empathy" for the complainant and a "self-centred attitude".
He also made McBride the subject of a sexual offences prevention order for five years.
