Man escapes jail sentence after mother allowed sex with girl, 14

Published on Wednesday 11 February 2009 21:00

A MOTHER who allowed her 14-year-old daughter to sleep with a man eight years her senior was condemned by a sheriff yesterday.

The woman was accused of a "serious dereliction of parental responsibility" for letting the schoolgirl have sex with Daniel Balfour.

Balfour, now 23, escaped a jail sentence yesterday when he appeared at Duns Sheriff Court in Berwickshire. He was given community service, placed on probation for three years and put on the sex offenders register for the same length of time.

The sheriff also banned Balfour, who was 22 at the time of the offences, from being in an enclosed place with the teenager.

Balfour, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, had previously admitted having underage sex with the teenager between 1 April and 6 October last year.

The girl's mother wrote to a local newspaper defending her decision to allow her daughter to sleep with him.

She argued: "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."

But Sheriff Thomas Drummond said yesterday that the mother had shown a "dereliction of parental duty". He told Balfour: "You were well aware of her age as a female minor and you persisted in the sexual activity despite that knowledge.

"There was no deception on either side.

" It is said that the sexual relationship took place not only with the knowledge of her mother but without objection and, if that is the case, that is a serious dereliction of parental responsibility.

"This legislation is not for the regulation of morality but for the protection of children and the first place where children should expect to find that protection is in their own home and from their parents."

Sheriff Drummond said the case crossed the custody threshold but decided that placing Balfour on probation would offer the best protection for the girl.

A condition of his probation is that he should not be alone in an enclosed place with the teenager. He was also ordered to carry out 140 hours of community service.

Sheriff Drummond added: "The mother is clearly not providing the level of protection required."

Balfour's defence agent, Ross Dow, told the court that his client was immature for his age while the girl in question was more mature than her 14 years.

The pair met through mutual 18-year-old friends.

Mr Dow said Balfour would not have pursued a relationship with the girl if her mother had not supported it.

He said: "Had she not, in fact, supported and endorsed the relationship from the outset, he would have walked away.

"He always knew he was committing an offence, but he didn't want to face up to that because his feelings were so strong it didn't matter what the consequences were for him.

"His wilful blindness persisted, perhaps as a consequence of the fact that the mother permitted the relationship."

Mr Dow said his client ended his relationship with the girl the day after his last court appearance in January.

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

After yesterday's sentencing, Dr Trevor Stammers, a GP and trustee of Family and Youth Concern, said a "national industry" that supported children having sex has developed, with some groups handing out condoms to youngsters as young as 12.

"I think it is gravely worrying when parents say it's OK for their underage children to have sex. Many parents are influenced by the backdrop – the sexualisation of their children. What they see as parental responsibility is actually parental irresponsibility."