A MAN was handed a suspended prison term after having sex with a 15-year-old girl.

Lewis Hall, 27, had consensual sex twice with the teenager at a house in Buckskin, Basingstoke, on or around August 13, 2012, Winchester Crown Court heard.

He appeared in the dock for sentence on Monday, having admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child on the first day of trial in July.

Tom Wright, prosecuting, said Hall had pleaded guilty on the basis that he did not know she was underage but that he had been “reckless” in his actions.

He said Hall knew the girl through a friend and had a “heart-to-heart” with her that day, having had a problem in his own relationship.

The girl reported the sex acts that followed to the police nearly a year later, after being persuaded by friends to do so, the court heard.

Mr Wright said that she told officers in a video interview that she had been a “willing participant” in the sex.

Adrienne Knight, defending, said: “As a result of his arrest for this, he’s been on anti-depressants. It’s had a big impact on him.”

Hall, of Chivers Close, Buckskin, Basingstoke, received a two-year prison term, suspended for two years, with 150 hours unpaid work and a 12-month supervision order.

Judge Jane Miller told him: “Your fate is in your hands. If you do not want to go to prison, keep out of trouble, it’s as simple as that.”