A South Hams man has been jailed for raping a teenage girl who he groomed over Facebook.

Jay Hubbard, of Chestnut Grove, Dartmouth, used a string of false identities to target three different underage girls online.

The 25-year-old sent all three sexualised messages on Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook and went on to rape one of them when she was dog-sitting in a village near Dartmouth.

He was already a registered sexual offender after assaulting a 14-year-old girl in 2011.

Hubbard was also subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which banned all contact with underage girls.

He was locked up at Exeter Crown Court where a judge also made a new SHPO which prevents him from creating false online identities in the future.

Hubbard admitted rape, three counts of sexual activity with a child, one of sexual communication with a child, and six of breaching the SHPO or the terms of the sex offenders’ register.

He was jailed for six and a half years by Judge Timothy Rose, who told him: "These offences all reveal a troubling and disturbing fascination with sexual activity with girls who are under the age of consent."

The rape had a serious effect on the girl, who changed from being outgoing, sociable and popular to being frightened to leave her home.

Mr Peter Coombe, prosecuting, said the offences started with Hubbard having consensual sex with a girl when she was 15.

He raped her when she was 16 by forcing her to have rough oral sex when she was struggling to breathe and trying to push him away.

He breached the sex offenders’ register and the SHPO by spending two nights with the girl when she was dog-sitting, creating false internet identities, and contacting underage girls.

The offences all took place in 2017 and 2018 and some only came to light after police found a laptop and mobile phone hidden under Hubbard’s mattress while carrying out a routine check at his home.

They showed he had used his own name, and the aliases Ben Jones, Jack Goodman, and Jaybo, on various social media accounts.

He told one 15-year-old she was gorgeous and asked about her virginity, but she told him to go away and called him a paedophile.

Hubbard told the police he had not realised the girl had not consented and claimed he was “just being stupid” when he sent the social media messages.

Mr Coombe said: "It is clear he was someone who behaved in a very predatory sexual way towards underage girls and had a fixation with girls in that age group."

Mr Rupert Taylor, defending, said the rape happened in the contexts of an otherwise consensual relationship and Hubbard has shown remorse.

The probation report assesses him as posing a low risk in the future if he responds well to courses while in prison.