A teenager told a 13-year-old girl her age didn't matter as he sexually abused her in three different ways, York Crown Court heard.

After she told police about Matthew Brook's crimes, she was bullied at school by people who claimed she was lying.

Brook, 19, of Chandlers, The Waterfront, Selby, pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual activity with the girl, all committed on the same day. A probation officer has assessed the risk of him reoffending as "medium".

Passing sentence, Recorder Eric Elliott QC told him: "It has been a very difficult decision to make. The type of people you would be mixing with in prison would inevitably lead to further corruption of your character and you would not be able to distinguish fully what is good for you and what is bad for you."

He gave Brook, 19, a three-year community order including a 46-session sex offender rehabilitation course, three years' supervision and 200 hours unpaid work.

He also made a five-year sexual offences prevention order banning him from contacting the girl in any way or having any unsupervised contact with any girl under 16 and placing restraints on his use of the internet. Brook will be on the sex offenders' register for five years.

Defence barrister John Boumphrey said Brook accepted what he had done was wrong and his crimes had been caused by his "loneliness and isolation".

Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, said Brook arranged to meet the girl via Facebook after she had told him she was 13. Brook later told police she had said she was 15 on Facebook.

When they met by a canal, he took her to his bedroom where he performed a series of sex acts involving her.

That evening, her mother noticed "love bites" on her skin and she revealed what had happened.

She told police about the sex acts: "I said to him does my age matter and he said no", the barrister told York Crown Court.

Reading a victim impact statement from the girl's mother, Mr Dodds said she had been bullied at school by people accusing her of making up lies about Brook.