‘I’ll be there when he walks out of prison’

Adam Fairbrother’s girlfriend Amy, 19, and his mother Lisa Stephen, have defended the 22-year-old after he was found guilty of sexual activity with the 14-year-old girl.

Speaking to The News Amy said: ‘I will be with him until the very end.

‘I will hold his hand when he walks out of prison.’

Fairbrother, 22, had denied sexual activity with a child but was convicted by a jury of having sex with the girl, 14.

Ms Stephen said: ‘My son made a mistake in sleeping with someone under the age of 16.

‘If he had known her age he wouldn’t have done it.

‘He’s never done anything like this, he’s not like this.

‘He’s got a lovely caring girlfriend who’s 19 years old – she’s totally standing by him.’

Ms Stephen added a family member had received messages giving the person grief after details of the case were published in The News.

Fairbrother, of Blackthorn Drive, Hayling Island, was jailed for three years after he was convicted of one charge of engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 15 in August 2013.

His victim cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Ms Stephen, of Hayling Island, added: ‘I’m his mum, I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. He didn’t shame me.

‘He’s got a job – he’s thrown himself into work and he did as many hours as he could.

‘He was always out with his mates playing football or clubbing.’

She added: ‘He’s a vulnerable boy.

‘He’s immature for his age, he always has been.

‘The amount of people calling him a pervert and a paedophile – and he’s not.’

When sentencing Fairbrother, Judge Roger Hetherington said: ‘There was here an element of applying pressure, which perhaps could be described almost as grooming.

‘The law in this area, it’s designed to protect young girls as much as anything from themselves and people like you, particularly when they are considerably older.

‘She will have suffered quite a bit.’

Fairbrother was seven-and-a-half years older than the victim.