Man plied girl with drugs before sex assaults

A 54-year-old man who plied a vulnerable teenage girl with drugs and sexually assaulted her over several days has been jailed.

Paul Collins, of no fixed address, was found with the girl when police went to his bedsit to arrest him for an unrelated matter in 2022. She reported what Collins had done to her a few days later.

At a hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, Collins was jailed for five years and seven months having been convicted of seven counts of sexual activity with a child.

The victim, who was praised for her bravery, has said she now lives every day "scared someone's going to attack me".

The court heard Collins approached the vulnerable teenager in the street and gained her trust. He then took advantage of her, gave her drugs, and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions.

The victim went to a police station a few days after the assaults and told officers what Collins had done to her.

In a personal impact statement read in court, she said: "I live, every day, scared someone's going to attack me. I don't know if someone's not looking at me with the same look he had, waiting to pounce.

"He doesn't want someone his age, he wants a child, someone that is scared, someone that's not going to answer back. Someone who he easily has authority over."

Investigating officer Det Con Liam Owens-Reeve, from Avon and Somerset Police, described Collins as a dangerous man.

"He manipulated and preyed on a teenage girl," he said.

"Her courage and bravery in talking about her traumatic experiences has meant we were able to bring charges against Collins and now he will hopefully be in prison for a long time and not act as a risk to other underage girls."

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