"Things took a turn towards the sinister": They met on Facebook... he plied the teenager with alcohol and cocaine before a horrifying sex attack

A rapist plied a vulnerable teenager he’d met on Facebook with alcohol and cocaine before sexually abusing her.

Reece Austick was 21 when he raped and sexually abused his 14-year-old victim. She travelled to Manchester alone and visited his flat, where the offences were committed.

He gave her alcohol and cocaine and later Austick sexually abused and raped her. Manchester Crown Court heard that the pair connected on Facebook, where they had mutual friends, but had never met before.

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Austick lied about his age, at first claiming he was 15, then 17. But at the time, he was actually 21.

She later travelled to Manchester to meet Austick in person. He took her back to his home, where a friend of his was also present.

Austick suggested to the girl that she should have some cocaine, and she did so, prosecutor Helena Williams said. They went to sleep in the same bed.

She woke up to find Austick slapping her to the face. He then said ‘suck my d*** and proceeded to sexually abuse her. She remained at the property for the next few days, before police arrived after a missing persons report had been filed regarding the girl.

During the period in which she had been in the flat, Austick had also raped her. He was arrested when police arrived and later denied raping the girl.

But Austick, from Salford, pleaded guilty to one count of rape and one count of having sexual activity with a child. “You befriended her on Facebook,” Judge Patrick Field KC told the defendant.

“It’s not suggested that there was anything obviously wrong about that, because you had a mutual friend. But things took a turn towards the sinister."

Speaking of the girl's time at Austick's home, the judge added: “There she was plied with alcohol and cocaine. She was a vulnerable young girl whose vulnerability was selfishly exploited by you, in my judgement, without any thought or consideration for the impact upon her of what you did to her.

“You lied about your age. The disparity of your ages was significant.”

Austick, now 27, was sentenced to seven years and two months in prison. The court heard that Austick had experienced a ‘difficult background and upbringing’. His barrister Ellie Akhgar said Austick, who has 31 previous offences on his record, was ‘no stranger to custody’ but is ‘making positive changes’ to his life.

Detective Sergeant James Walsh, of GMP's Criminal Investigation Department in Salford, said: "Firstly I want to thank the victim for coming forward and reporting this awful ordeal to us. Austick was calculated in his offending – he approached his victim on social media and knew she was a teenager. He then subjected her to appalling sexual abuse over the course of two days.

"He is a dangerous individual who has intentionally targeted a child victim and subjected her to horrendous abuse. I welcome his lengthy sentence.

"Due to the complexities in this case, it has taken a long time to get to this point, and I want to thank the victim for her patience, courage and perseverance."