Court bans man from seeing his lover aged 14

Published on Wednesday 7 January 2009 20:57

A MAN who had sex with a girl of 14, with her mother's consent, was yesterday banned from having any contact with the teenager.

The order came after a court heard Daniel Balfour, 23, was continuing to have a relationship with the girl. Sheriff Kevin Drummond said the situation concerned him and he imposed a fresh bail order banning Balfour from contacting or communicating with the girl.

Balfour, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, previously admitted having under-age sex with the girl between April and October last year.

The girl's mother later defended her decision to allow her daughter to sleep with him. The woman, who cannot be named to prevent the girl from being identified, argued she was trying to protect her daughter.

Balfour had been due to be sentenced at Duns Sheriff Court yesterday, but the case was continued because reports ordered by the court were not available.

Ross Dow, defending, told the court the set-up was "peculiar" and that Balfour had been affected by the media attention surrounding the case. "It's been quite upsetting for him," he said.

He also told the court Balfour continued to have a relationship with the girl, which was endorsed by the mother. But he added: "There is not a sexual element to that relationship, he assures me."

Sheriff Drummond said he had "some concern" about the fact "that the relationship continues under the supervision of an adult".

He said he was not satisfied that a bail condition imposed at the last court appearance, which stated the two should not be alone together, was operating as intended.

He told Balfour: "The condition will now be that you must not contact or communicate in any way, directly or indirectly, with the young female … until such time as this matter is to be reviewed by the court."

The court heard Balfour had forgotten to attend an appointment to help with the preparation of the background reports.

Mr Dow claimed this was due to the impact of the media attention on him, and because he had experienced housing problems which left him homeless for a short time.

Sheriff Drummond urged Balfour to keep a fresh appointment that had been made for him, and to avoid contacting the girl.

The mother has claimed that, despite her best efforts, she could not stop the relationship so let it continue.

In a letter to a local newspaper, she defended her actions, saying: "Do you know what your 14-year-old daughter is doing? Well I do.

"Although I tried many times to stop the relationship, she carried on behind my back. As many mothers know, you can't lock a 14-year-old in their room until they are 16."

She added: "In an ideal world, we all try to protect our children and this is what I was trying to do. As much as I didn't like the situation, I felt that by keeping them close, I could monitor the situation. If I felt my daughter was in any danger from this lad, I would have killed him myself."

Balfour is due back in court on 11 February.