A TRAIN guard has been jailed for two years and four months for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl he was infatuated with.

Charles Hall, 58, groomed the teenager over a period of several months, messaging her on Facebook and meeting up with her regularly.

Hall, of Fallwood Street, Haworth, pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual activity with the girl and three offences of possession of indecent photographs of a child.

Bradford Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Hall, who worked as a train conductor for Trans Pennine Express, met the teenager while working as a volunteer for a local organisation.

On one occasion he touched her naked breasts and on another she touched him indecently.

Detectives were first made aware of Hall’s behaviour after a colleague saw him videoing himself at a urinal at work.

Another colleague raised concerns when he overheard Hall using inappropriate sexual language towards the victim on a video call in the staff mess room.

When Hall’s work phone was seized and examined by officers, indecent images of the victim were found and inappropriate Facebook Messenger conversations.

Hall’s barrister, Mark Brookes, said he had no previous convictions.

He was very remorseful and aware of the distress he had caused the girl.

Judge David Hatton QC ordered Hall to sign on the sex offender register for seven years and made a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, also for seven years.

The judge said the age gap of more than 40 years between Hall and the complainant was an aggravating feature of the case.

He became infatuated with her and attempted to gain her confidence with a view to having a sexual relationship with her. The indecent photos were taken as part of the grooming process.

After the case, Detective Inspector Granville Sellers from British Transport Police said: “Hall exploited the position of trust he had at a local organisation to befriend a young girl over a series of months.

“Then, on more than one occasion he sexually assaulted her, knowing full well that his actions were illegal and entirely reprehensible.

“I am grateful to the vigilant staff members at Trans Pennine Express trains for alerting us to Hall’s suspicious and inappropriate behaviour. Ultimately, they played a crucial part in bringing Hall to justice and putting him behinds bars.”