A man has been locked up for having sex with a girl who was just 13.
Robert Gale was 25 when he had intercourse with the girl as she lay over a bath.
The defendant, now aged 26, of Tan y Bryn in Wrexham, denied two charges of sexual activity with the child in 2017.
But he was convicted by the jury of eight women and four men at Mold Crown Court on Wednesday afternoon, and was jailed for five years.
He was ordered to register with the police as a sex offender for life, and Judge Rhys Rowlands made a life-time sexual harm prevention order.
A five-year restraining order was made under which he is not to approach the victim.
Judge Rowlands said that, following initial sexual activity, Gale took the girl to a bathroom where he had sex with her.
At 25, he was a grown man with some experience of the world, including periods of custody, said the judge.
"I have no doubt that you knew the girl's age," he said.
"In the eyes of all right-thinking people, she was very young at 13."
The court heard the defendant did not know the girl and had not met her before.
"You saw an opportunity to take advantage of her and took it," said the judge.
"She had been drinking. I have no doubt that you recognised that as well."
The judge said Gale had been before the court with depressing regularity over the years, mainly for dishonesty.
He had a number of previous convictions and received 32 months in June 2013 for a serious offence of aggravated burglary and possessing a knife.
Gale was on licence from custody at the time of the sexual offending and had since been recalled.
Prosecuting barrister Simon Rogers said Gale accepted that he had sex with the girl, but claimed she told him she was 16 before they had intercourse.
The girl told how Gale allegedly said: "None of you tell anything about this because I can get into serious trouble."
Interviewed, he said he only later discovered she was 13 when she told him on Facebook Messenger.
When they had sex, he believed she was 16, said defending barrister Henry Hills.
Following the conviction, Mr Hills told the court that Gale, who is originally from LLangollen, had a troubled childhood.
He had been brought up in a broken home, had been in foster care, and led a transient lifestyle with a lack of accommodation, the court heard.
"He needs to take advantage of any opportunities available to him within the prison to work towards making something of his life," said Mr Hills.
"It has been pretty desperate up to now."
