A former taxi driver has been jailed after sexually assaulting a teenage girl and offering money to buy her silence during an almost year-long span of abuse.

Abdurahrim Yalcin, of Norman Road, Ramsgate, started targeting his victim when she was 16, touching her both over and under her clothing on several occasions.

The 56-year-old then sought to keep his behaviour a secret by buying the girl clothes and offering her money in an attempt to keep her quiet.

She reported the assaults to police in September 2023 after she realised his behaviour was not only escalating, but unlikely to stop after a period of abuse spanning 10 months.

Dad-of-four Yalcin was arrested the same day and later charged with three counts of sexual assault.

He pleaded not guilty, but was convicted on all counts following a three-day trial at Canterbury Crown Court.

James Burke, defending, said that his behaviour towards the victim was out of character and occurred when the family were under emotional strain after his eldest son, Serhat Yalcin, was jailed for nine years and four months in 2021 for a violent attack in Canterbury High Street.

"You don't have to treat this man as a calculating predator. He was a man under severe emotional strain," the lawyer told the court.

"Things were not going well in his family. Perhaps it started out as a bit of fun.

"He has done wrong and he has to be punished and sentenced. He is a man who has learnt a salutary lesson."

But when Mr Burke told the court that Yalcin had made "an error of judgement", Judge Simon Taylor pointed out that the victim had been molested multiple times.

In her impact statement, parts of which were read out when sentence was being passed, she wrote: "I felt my age stopped me from speaking out sooner. I wasn't sure what was going on and how to put into words to tell someone what was happening.

"As it continued, I became very scared and it made it even harder for me to tell someone what was going on."

Yalcin was jailed for 18 months yesterday (October 30) and was told he will remain on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

The court heard he worked as a taxi driver until his conviction led to his licence being revoked.

Passing sentence, Judge Taylor said that the troubles Yalcin and his family were experiencing provided context but "very little by way of mitigation".

Furthermore, on the possibility of being spared immediate custody, he highlighted the fact a pre-sentence report stated he took no responsibility for his offending.

"I accept initial denial may not always be a bar to rehabilitation but my assessment is that you have no real motivation to gain insight into your offending," the judge told him as he stood in the dock assisted by an interpreter.

It was an appalling violation of the sanctity of her body. You did so because you thought you could get away with it...

"You would be happy to withdraw into your own world, telling people that your victim was a liar and you were wrongly convicted.

"You weren't wrongly convicted. You were convicted on compelling evidence.

"You sexually abused this young lady four times. It got worse and worse each time. It was an appalling violation of the sanctity of her body. You did so because you thought you could get away with it.

"It is very rare for me to impose short, immediate prison sentences, and rarer on a man with no previous convictions. But your offending was so grave I have no choice."

Meanwhile, Kent Police’s DC, Daniel Dew, added: “Yalcin was an opportunistic criminal who saw the vulnerability in his victim and exploited it repeatedly for his own gratification.

“His actions were calculated, predatory, and disturbing.

“I want to praise the victim for the bravery she has shown throughout this process.

“Her testimony and contributions have been vital in securing this sentence and in bringing this man to justice.”