A man jailed for molesting a teenage girl after grooming her in an internet chatroom was in contact with 40 other youngsters.

Paul Jones, 21, was sent to prison for four years at Swindon Crown Court yesterday, after a report said he posed a serious risk to young girls.

He had "targeted and groomed" the 14-year-old, asking how old she was and if she was a virgin, the court heard.

The computer support technician was arrested in September just a day after computer giant Microsoft announced it would be shutting all its chatrooms because of such abuses.

Jones "struck up a rapport" with the girl, one of 40 people of a similar age with whom he was in communication via chatrooms, Swindon Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Simon Morgan said Jones had arranged to meet the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on September 22 last year.

She had been at a party and he picked her up in his car from Swindon and drove her to a shop in Hungerford, Berkshire, where he bought her three Bacardi Breezers and himself a Coke.

He then drove her to Savernake Forest, near Marlborough, where the sexual assaults took place.

After they had left the car, she carried out a sex act on him.

Afterwards he drove her back to Swindon at speed and dropped her off.

The girl became distressed and went to her GP who contacted the authorities.

Police later searched Jones' home in Burbage Road, Penhill, and examined hard drives on his computer.

Detectives said they found messages from Jones to the girl using his label The Swindoner.

One told her: "I don't mind younger girls because I find them a turn-on. I just find 14 to 16 sexy."

The girl had told him she was a virgin. Ian Lawrie, defending, said Jones was a man of previous good character whose live-in girlfriend and family had stood by him.

Jones admitted a charge of abducting a child and two of indecent assault. Previous charges of rape and false imprisonment were dropped.

Sentencing him, Judge Thomas Longbotham said it did not matter if the girl consented to any sexual activity initially.

"You were five or six years older, she could not consent," he said. "She was vulnerable, very vulnerable and you took advantage of that."

Jones was given four years' imprisonment with an extended sentence on licence of two years.

He was ordered to be placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life, was banned from working with children and a restraint order was put in place banning him from access to any internet chatroom.

Alex Emery