A YOUNG man from Gloucester has been locked up for committing sexual acts with a York schoolboy whom he had met on the Internet.

Ben Johnson wept in the dock at York Crown Court after a judge sentenced him to 12 months at a young offenders' institution.

The court heard that Johnson and the 13-year-old York boy had chatted to each other through BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) and the York boy had then travelled down to Gloucester to meet Johnson, but without sexual contact being made.

Johnson, who was aged 18 at the time, subsequently travelled to York to stay with the boy at his family home, where they went to bed together and performed sexual acts, said Glenn Parsons, prosecuting.

He said City of York Council's social services staff received an anonymous tip off and went to the family home, where the boy, who was bisexual, came to the door with a love bite on his neck. Johnson was found sitting on a sofa, holding a teddy bear, and he was arrested.

Mr Parsons said there was an 'element of grooming' by Johnson in the BBM messages between the two. At one point, he had told the boy to say he was 16 if anyone asked, or people would otherwise think he was a 'paedo'.

He said Johnson had also been accused of grooming the boy and inciting sexual activity but the crown was not pursuing these charges, and he asked for them to be left on the file.

Nicholas Johnson said in mitigation that the boy had made the initial online contact with Johnson, asked for his telephone number first and had said he had not felt pressurised.

He said Johnson felt genuine remorse and was of previous good character, but had shown a lack of maturity. He had been the pupil of the year at his sixth form college and had started full-time work in administration.

Johnson, now 20, of Tredworth Road, Gloucester, pleaded guilty last month to three charges of sexual activity with the boy in August 2013.

Judge Peter Hunt told him it had been an exploitative relationship, in which he had taken advantage of someone whom he had known was significantly younger. He issued a five-year sexual harm prevention order to protect other children.