A 34-year-old man from Orpington has been jailed after raping a schoolgirl in the back of his car.

Joshua Brown, of Robin Hood Green, began texting the girl after her phone number was given to him by a friend.

Despite him knowing that she was just 12 years old at the time, their conversations continued.

Over the course of six weeks, the pair had exchanged thousands of texts.

Brown later travelled to meet the girl before raping her in the back of his car.

The girl disclosed what happened to her mum a few weeks later and the offence was reported to police.

Brown was traced through his car registration and arrested by Metropolitan Police.

He initially denied the offences but police found the texts on both his and the victim's phones.

Officers found he had repeatedly made reference to her age, knowing he would go to jail.

He was charged with two counts of the rape of a girl under 13, grooming a child, possession of indecent images of a child, and inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

He pleaded guilty to all offences at his first hearing before Wolverhampton Crown Court on June 19.

Brown was sentenced to nine years in prison with a further year on extended licence.

He will also be subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 20 years.

PC Adrian Jackson, from our Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team, said: “We commend the girl’s bravery in coming forward and her tenacity throughout the investigation.

“We have specialist officers who understand how difficult it is to report offences of a sexual nature, and we are there to help victims through every step of the investigation and prosecution.”