A Felixstowe man has been jailed for two years after admitting having sex with a 17-year-old girl.

Matthew Redstall, of High Road, was sentenced to Ipswich Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to seven counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity by a person in a position of trust and three counts of possessing indecent images of a child.

Matthew Redstall, of High Road, Felixstowe, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court (Image: Suffolk Police) The court heard that Redstall, 50, made the girl feel “special” and told her he was lonely in his marriage and that the girl was the only one who ever asked how she was feeling.

At the time of the 2019 crime, the girl was 17 and her grandmother had just died, leaving her “vulnerable” to the defendant’s “manipulative” behaviour.

The victim began confiding in Redstall and they began a relationship that became increasingly sexual.

Both sent each other intimate pictures and later the pair had consensual sex for two months.

However, the girl eventually informed a social worker that she had had a sexual relationship with Redstall.

The defendant initially denied the allegations, but later admitted to them and allowed police to search his phone where they found the pictures.

A victim impact statement was read to the court in which she said: “The effects I have endured during and since becoming a victim of sexual and emotional abuse are physically, mentally and emotionally damaging.”

“My self-image was shattered,” she added.

“My 18th birthday was ruined by the offender emphasizing his sexual needs in manipulative and narcissistic tones and asking why I wasn’t having certain sexual acts with him.

“He sexually and emotionally took advantage of a vulnerable child.”

Judge David Wilson jailed Redstall for two years and added: “This was a predatory offense and the court cannot look lightly at such persistent predatory behaviour.”