Cumbrian man jailed for sex with schoolgirl
A Cumbrian man has been jailed for four-and-a-half years for having a sexual relationship with a schoolgirl.
Michael Christie, 42, of Penrith, was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court.
In May he was found guilty of indecently assaulting the girl when she was 13 and of sexual activity with her when she was about 14.
Christie was also put on the sex offenders register indefinitely and banned from having unsupervised contact with children.
During the trial he claimed the girl, now an adult, had made false allegations.
The court heard how Christie, a former chip-shop manager and part-time fireman, began seducing her when she was just 13.
They first had sex when she was 14 and the relationship continued until she was 17 years old.
Christie told the court her allegations were false and the result of her "fantasising".