By Lars Niven

AN UNEMPLOYED Fife teenager, who admitted having sex with a 12-year-old girl, was sent to detention for 21 months when he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday.

Christopher Tracey told detectives he thought the girl was at least 16, but Lord Uist told him he took advantage of the youngster even though she was a willing partner.

Tracey, from Glenrothes, had denied sleeping with the girl twice when the case called for trial at the High Court in Dunfermline last November.

However, he changed his plea after the jury heard evidence from the 12-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

She told them she became pregnant by the jobless 19-year-old, who is now 20, and went on to have an abortion.

Tracey admitted having unlawful sexual intercourse with the girl at two addresses in Fife some time between December 12, 2006, and January 4 last year.

He claimed he asked the girl how old she was before agreeing to a date and was told she was just months away from her 17th birthday.

He said the youngster kept phoning him and set up their first date because she wanted to skip school.

They went to a flat, watched films, then had sex.

Advocate depute Robert Weir, prosecuting, told Lord Uist following Tracey’s change of plea the accused appeared on petition at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court in connection with the case on January 11 of last year.

He was released on bail.

Iain Paterson, counsel for the defence, said Tracey offered to plead guilty at a preliminary hearing on July 13.

However, after a discussion about how best to resolve the difference between the Crown’s position and that of the defence, about what age Tracey believed the girl was, the judge decided the matter should go to trial.

Mr Paterson also said that as a result of his court appearance on January 11, Tracey was beaten up and repeatedly stabbed.

Mr Paterson stressed the incident was in no way connected to the girl’s family and said a man was jailed for six years for the attack.

During the trial, Detective Constable Carole Nairn, who works with the Fife Police family protection unit, said she was asked to investigate an allegation that someone had slept with the 12-year-old.

As a result, Tracey was detained and questioned at Glenrothes police station on January 10.

DC Nairn asked him to tell her what was going on, and he replied, “I didn’t know she was under-age.

“I thought she was 16.

“Her birthday is in March. I thought she was coming up 17.”

During the interview Tracey went on to describe how he met the girl through a relative, who suggested they should go out on a date.

He insisted the girl started phoning him “all the time” and told DC Nairn she arranged the first date because she wanted to avoid school.

“I asked her how old she was and she said she was 16, 17 in March.”

He admitted they had sex twice, but said that was all.

Sarah Tracey, the accused’s sister, told the jury she met the girl once at her home.

Her brother turned up with the girl and, as far as she knew, they spent the morning watching films.

Mr Weir asked if the subject of the girl’s age came up.

“Yes,” Miss Tracey replied.

“She said she was 16. She said she went to college.”

Passing sentence, Lord Uist told Tracey, “The girl sought you out and agreed to what took place between you, but that does not absolve you of your responsibility for what you did.

“You clearly took advantage of her.”

He added, “It is a serious aggravation that the girl became pregnant and had an abortion.”

Mr Paterson sought probation for his client.

“Tracey is a relatively young man and hopefully this experience of being prosecuted in the High Court will have taught him a valuable lesson in life and that lesson is he has to take more care with the decisions he makes,” he said.

However, Lord Uist said at the time of the offence Tracey was on bail and awaiting sentence for another, unconnected, offence.

A background report also revealed there was a high risk of further sex offences.

The judge also made an order that Tracey should be under strict supervision for a further 18 months after the end of his sentence of detention, and added his name to the sex offenders’ register.