A Perth man has been jailed after police found a missing schoolgirl hiding under his bed.
Martin Reeves lured the 15-year-old to his city centre home and had sex with her twice.
Reeves, 33, had ordered the girl to hide under his bed when police came knocking at his door, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
Reeves told police he had not seen the youngster – before they pointed out her jacket lying on his sofa and her hand sticking out from underneath his bed.
Jailing Reeves for 74 weeks, Sheriff William Wood told him: “This is a serious offence.
“This child was 15 and you were a much older man. The child was effectively taken advantage of by you.”
Reeves, handcuffed in the dock, shook his head as Sheriff Wood said: “You knew how old she was because she told you.
“Only a custodial sentence is appropriate.”
‘Marked’
Reeves, who was placed on the sex offender’s register, admitted engaging in sexual activity with the youngster at his flat in South Street, Perth, in December last year.
Solicitor David Holmes said: “He is sorry for what he has done.
“Mr Reeves has explained to social workers that when he is released he will find it difficult to live in the locality.
“He knows that people will be aware of this conviction.”
Mr Holmes said his client’s judgement had been affected by the level of alcohol he had taken.
The court heard that Reeves had not emotionally recovered from witnessing his father die suddenly at his home.
‘Vulnerable’
Fiscal depute Michael Sweeney previously told the court Reeves’ victim was a vulnerable “looked-after child”.
“At the time, the accused was reminded that she was 15 but this did not seem to worry him,” he said.
“That afternoon, there was knocking at the accused’s door.
“He instructed (the child) to hide under the bed, which she did.”
The court heard police had attended at the property as part of inquiries into the teenager’s disappearance
‘Come back when you have a warrant’
Mr Sweeney said: “The accused refused to open the door, and told the officers: ‘Come back when you have a warrant’.”
“He then opened the door slightly, wearing just a top and boxer shorts.
“He repeated that (the child) was not with him and he had not seen her.”
Eventually, police entered the property and soon noticed the girl’s distinctively patterned jacket on his sofa, Mr Sweeney said.
“They pointed the jacket out to the accused, who maintained he had not seen (the girl) but eventually stated that she had been there earlier, but had since gone away.
“An officer then noticed a hand sticking out from underneath the bed.
“Moving the covers, he saw the complainer.”
On leaving the property, Reeves shouted to police: “There’s nothing wrong with a 16-year-old and a 33-year-old.”
The youngster was medically examined and told police that she had had sex with Reeves.
