“Odd” married man, 62, kisses teenage girl in Portsmouth he “groomed” by becoming trusted confidant

Richard Paddon left the girl aged under 16 angry and betrayed when his increasingly provocative behaviour resulted in him kissing the female on the lips.

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Portsmouth Crown Court heard how Paddon, of Walmer Road, Fratton, became lecherous with his sexual jokes making the girl feel “uncomfortable”. The complainant said the defendant’s behaviour escalated from a “little hug to a big hug” before the kiss.

The “grooming” behaviour had led to pervert Paddon being seen by the girl as one of her “anchors”, with her saying: “My dad and Richard were the only men I trusted.” But she said her trust was “misplaced”.

The girl said in a statement: “I feel like I’ve been stupid and should have seen the signs. All my friends said the relationship was not normal and my mum said he was a bit odd.”

Following the incident, the girl said: “I suffer with low mood and need counselling for trauma and grooming. I struggle with having done nothing wrong but facing years of counselling.

“I worry my future relationships might be doomed if I can’t trust anyone.”

The court heard Paddon was now in “significant debt” and his wife, who was at the court hearing, was “dependent” on him”.

Judge William Ashworth told Paddon the “lack of boundaries were only in one direction…and it was yours”. He continued: “In talking to her about personal difficulties she had quite understandably put you on a pedestal and regarded you as one of her emotional anchors.

“You thought you had an emotional connection and a mutual connection of affection which there wasn’t. She felt something akin to you being like a father or a teacher.”

The judge went on to say it was “sad” there had not been an apology following the “tragic affect” on the girl before Paddon wailed out “sorry”, resulting in judge Ashworth saying: “Now is the time for you to listen.”

Paddon, who was convicted of sexual activity with a child, was given a two-year community order with 50 rehabilitation days and told to pay compensation of £2,500 to the girl. A sexual harm prevention order for five years - preventing unsupervised contact with girls under 16 - was also made.