A CHILDREN’S home care worker and former part-time firefighter who had a sexual relationship with a teenager has been jailed for a year.

‘Manipulative’ Kenneth Horrocks, 43, of Great Harwood, sneaked the girl into his home and repeatedly had consensual intercourse with her in his marital bed while his wife was out at work and his children at school or college.

Horrocks had bombarded the girl with email declarations of love.

On one occasion, the teenager returned home with a love bite and said the defendant had done it during an outing in his car to local woods, Burnley Crown Court heard.

The defendant had been suspended from his job a retained firefighter in the Accrington area when the allegations were made and subsequently resigned.

He admitted four criminal offences arising from his relationship with the girl.

Horrocks, of Kingsway, Great Harwood, was banned from working with children and from voluntary work and was placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.

He had no previous convictions.

Louise Whaites, prosecuting, said Horrocks had had sex twice with the girl when she was 16 and twice when she was 17.

After Horrocks was arrested, he told police a sexual relationship had developed and it had gone from him taking care of her to falling in love with her.

Martin Hackett, for Horrocks, said: “He didn't realise at the time it was illegal in law, but it must have been obvious to him that how he acted was something he should never have done and he accepts that.”

The court was told Horrocks’ wife was standing by him.

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