A GERMAN man who had sex with a 14-year-old girl he met on the internet has been jailed for two and a half years.

Benjamin Philipp, 19, pictured, began communicating with the girl, who cannot be named, via an art website in September last year and the relationship soon developed, Bournemouth Crown Court heard.

Prosecuting, Simon Jones said the girl’s mother knew her daughter had been communicating with Philipp but had made it clear if they were to meet it must be in public and she wanted to be present.

Philipp flew to England earlier this year and the girl’s mother arrived home to discover a note to say she had gone to meet him.

In the note the teenager wrote: “Every time I feel unhappy or depressed I talk and it helped me so much. For months we just helped each other … and I started feeling less depressed.”

Philipp, who knew the girl’s age, met her at a bus station in Dorset and the pair travelled out of the county by train and checked into a bed and breakfast for two nights, where the pair had sex.

Mr Jones said the girl’s mother called the police and she was found two days later when a police officer recognised her. Philipp was arrested.

Nick Robinson, mitigating, said Philipp – who appeared in court with his long dark hair in a ponytail and a long black beard – ‘did not prey’ on the girl but let his ‘heart rule his head’ and ‘was blinded by love’.

Mr Robinson added: “He is a 19-year-old man of previous good character who has behaved very poorly. But he’s a good person and he deeply regrets what he’s done.”

The court heard Philipp pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual activity with a girl under 16 and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence. He was found not guilty of a sexual grooming offence.

Jailing Philipp, Judge John Harrow said: “She was a willing participant. The fact is she was two years underage and you knew that.”