A rapist grooming a teenager girl paid a taxi to take her 65 miles across country before raping her

A rapist who groomed a teenage girl paid for a taxi to take her 65 miles across the country before raping her.

Jake O'Neil, 33, groomed a girl under 16 in an online chat room before moving onto Snapchat.

Despite the young girl stating she was underage, O'Neil carried on sending explicit messages. He continued to contact her using a different profile after the teenager blocked him.

O'Neil paid for a taxi to take her 65 miles from Wolverhampton, West Midlands, to his home in Wilmslow where he raped her. Her family contacted the police when she did not turn up for school.

O'Neil smashed the teenager's phone before throwing it into a river, attempting to cover up his crimes.

Police were still able to trace her to the property in Cheshire, where they arrested O'Neil upon his return from Tesco after he left the girl alone to go shopping.

Following his arrest, O’Neil admitted having sex with the girl on two other occasions that month, claiming he believed she was 16 at the time.However, he was charged with eight charges, including rape, attempted rape, child abduction, grooming, and four counts of penetration.

He was found guilty by a jury after a trial at Chester Crown Court on 5 January. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with a five-year extension by a judge, on 5 March.

Cheshire's Detective Constable Charlotte Astbury, who led the investigation, said: “O’Neil clearly knew she underage - we even found a message he sent to someone admitting she was underage."Knowing this, O’Neil took advantage of a vulnerable teenager, going to great lengths to groom her for his own warped intentions and is now paying the price for this with a prison sentence.”