A schoolgirl became pregnant after meeting a 40-year-old man through an internet chat service, a court heard yesterday.

The 14-year-old from Brighton stayed with Simon Josephs at a hotel near Brighton seafront and also travelled to his home town of Newcastle to meet him.

Josephs admitted five charges of having unlawful sex with a girl under the age of 16 between March and September last year when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court yesterday.

He was sentenced to 15 months in jail and ordered to sign on the sex offenders register for ten years.

Alexia Durran, prosecuting, told the court Josephs pretended to be 19 when he first made contact with the girl in October 1999 and she told him she was 16. He used the name Super Simon.

The sexual relationship continued after he had discovered her true age.

The girl had told her mother she was staying with friends when she was seeing Josephs.

She became pregnant but the pregnancy was later terminated.

Judge Anthony Scott-Gall said Josephs was a predator who had used the chatline to meet the girl then groomed her for his own sexual gratification.

He said: "However precocious a 14-year-old girl may be, the law must strive to protect children from people taking advantage of them.

"I cannot comment on people who are internet users, but it seems to be a vehicle for people like you who have utterly depraved and unhealthy appetites to take advantage of those foolish enough to enter into chatroom discussions.

"The facility is there and it is used and abused."

The court heard Josephs had a previous conviction for possessing indecent photographs of children and he was jailed for six years at Newcastle Crown Court in October last year for charges of gross indecency with a child and indecently assaulting a child.

Laurence Lobo, defending, said: "Josephs wishes to apologise to all those involved."

He said: "He knows he has done wrong."