A teenager is facing custody for committing sex offences with three victims and downloading abuse images from the internet.

Patrick Chidlow, formerly of Dashwood Road, Gravesend, wept as a judge withdrew his bail and remanded him in custody until sentence next month.

The 18-year-old university student admitted 10 offences of causing a person or child to engage in sexual activity, two of blackmail, three of possessing indecent photographs of a child and one of distributing them.

His not guilty plea to a rape charge was accepted by the prosecution.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the offences involving two boys and a girl, were committed between January 2012 and January last year.

Anthony Heaton-Armstrong, defending, said Chidlow, who was studying at Nottingham University, recognised there would be a custodial sentence of some length. He had started a course of therapy.

“I am instructed to offer his apologies to the parents of the victims,” he said. “He recognises that what he did must have been extremely distressing for them.

“He recognises that the effect of his behaviour is likely to be long lasting. He won’t in any way suggest that they contributed to his offending behaviour or they are in any way to blame.”

Judge Jeremy Carey replied: “It is not for me to say what they make of those comments. They may regard it as impertinent. They may regard it as of some assistance to come to terms with the enormity of this kind of offending.”

Mr Heaton-Armstrong stressed that the apology was “not a cynical exercise”.

He applied for bail to be continue, but remanding Chidlow until August 14, the judge said: “I do that because you have now admitted these very serious sex offences.

“You should know the overwhelming probability, despite your relative youth, is you will be sentenced to custody.”

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