A PENSIONER had sex with a missing schoolgirl before police tracked her down to his flat, York Crown Court heard.

The 15-year-old girl’s sister called in officers on August 15 to help locate the child, who has emotional problems, said Adrian Strong, prosecuting.

By talking to taxi drivers, they found her in the flat of 71-year-old Henry Wharton’s home in Apollo Street, off Lawrence Street, York.

“The officers didn’t go inside due to the state of the premises,” said the barrister.

But almost at once the girl came out. She had been in bed with Wharton, who had had sex with her.

Wharton was jailed for two-and-a-half years and put on the sex offenders’ register for life. He was also given a sexual offences prevention order restricting his behaviour and contact with children in future. He admitted having sexual activity with a girl, knowing she was under 16.

His barrister, James Bourne-Arton, said Wharton had not in any way coerced the girl, who had taken a taxi to his house.

Mr Bourne-Arton said: “She voluntarily arrived at his house and got into his bed.”

He said his client’s offence had been through a lack of self-control.

Mr Strong said the girl had had a “dysfunctional” childhood and York Youth Offending Team was working with her “as a result of her behavioural and emotional problems”.

Two days after police found her, she told police Wharton had raped her. But when they interviewed her as a prosecution witness against him, she left the interview partway through and did not return.

Wharton later told police he had sex with her on a spur of the moment basis and that she had consented.

Mr Bourne-Arton said Wharton had never been in trouble for sexual matters before and had no history of offences involving children.

He had suffered a brain injury in 2007 which the court heard may have affected him mentally, but because he was illiterate, doctors could not ascertain how much.