A PAEDOPHILE caught having sex with an underage girl and grooming underage girls online has been jailed for over seven years.

Matthew White, formerly of Rochford Gardens, Bicester, was found guilty after a trial at Oxford Crown Court of six counts of child sexual offences dating back to 2019.

The 26-year-old denied the offences, telling police that though he had messaged and met with one of the girls but that nothing sexual had taken place.

READ MORE: Scales of Justice: The latest cases from Oxford Magistrates' Court

Judge Hassan Khan sentenced White at the same court on Monday (July 22) to seven years and four months imprisonment.

During the trial, the Crown Prosecution Service stated that White had a sexual interest in teenage girls and was ‘predatory’ in seeking them out on Facebook.

The victims in the case, of which there were three, were all 15 years old and cannot be named for legal reasons. He was 21 years of age when he had unprotected sex with one of the teenagers on two occasions.

When he was arrested for these offences, officers discovered the other messages on his phone.

It was heard that he had exchanged sexual pictures with one of the other girls and had asked for naked photographs in return.

READ MORE: Inquest opens into death of parliamentary secretary

One exchange included a video of White masturbating.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, the girl said that she was ‘very impressionable and vulnerable to people like [White]’ when the offence took place.

She said that after it happened she was fearful of seeing the defendant around Bicester and worried he could see into her house.

The court heard she also suffered from flashbacks about what happened and it has now impacted her relationship with men.

In a pre-sentence report, the probation service wrote that White had told them the charges ‘were bull****’ and shows ‘no empathy or understanding of the victim’s perspective’.

They added that they believed his behaviour ‘was predatory’ and ‘the risk of serious through an offence of sexual exploitation of female children remains high’.

Defending White, his barrister James Hay explained that his client has a ‘difficult background’ and was ‘highly immature’ at the time of the offending.

READ MORE: Man, 25, causes serious injury by dangerous driving to woman

He said that White hopes to work as a chef upon his release as it was something that kept him busy and was engaging to do.

White was also made subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order.

He could be seen shaking his head throughout his sentencing hearing in the dock, wearing an all grey tracksuit.