A man who admitted having sex with a 15-year-old girl was handed an 18-month suspended sentence yesterday.

Romario Dill, 29, pleaded guilty to unlawful carnal knowledge of the girl in an incident in 2019. He was 23 at the time of the offence.

Acting Puisne Judge Paul Doherty said that the offence was a serious one which carried a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars.

However, he noted that the matter had taken an inordinate time to reach the sentencing stage.

“Perhaps the exceptional aspect of this case is it has taken so long,” he said. “The delay in this case has been unacceptable.

“It has been more than four years since it happened. You have had to endure the worry of having this case over your head for such a time period.”

During the sentencing hearing, the court heard that the complainant — who cannot be identified for legal reasons — contacted Dill on Instagram sometime between December 2018 and January 2019.

The pair communicated online and after a few months, they began to meet at her home after midnight while her parents were asleep.

The court heard that Dill became aware that the girl was a high school student, but believed that she was 16 rather than 15.

Sometime in June 2019, Dill had sexual intercourse with the girl, who informed her parents.

A report was made to police in February 2020.

Dill was arrested over the incident in September 2020, but he was not indicted until March 2021.

Prosecutors called for Dill to be sentenced to 18 months behind bars and said that a strong message needed to be sent to discourage such “regrettably prevalent” offences.

Susan Mulligan, for Dill, agreed that a custodial sentence was appropriate in the circumstances but argued the case was one where it would be suitable to suspend that sentence.

She noted that Dill had no previous convictions and in the years since the incident had shown himself to be on the right track.

“He had this hanging over his head now for four years,” she said. “He has moved forwards. He is doing better than he ever has been.

“If we were to put him in custody at a time when he has already done all the things he was supposed to do and not done anything to suggest he would reoffend, we could potentially derail all of that.”

Ms Mulligan added that Dill accepted responsibility for his actions and reports had found that he was at low to no risk of committing further offences.

Delivering his sentence, Mr Justice Doughty said that the victim in the case had suffered lingering effects of the offence and had sought counselling.

However, he said Dill had abided by the terms of his bail for four years without any issue and appeared to show genuine remorse for his actions.

“Dill, reading the comments of the parole officer, clearly understands the nature of his offending,” he said. “He agrees he should have been more diligent in finding out her true age and I can see a great deal of regret and remorse for this offending.”

Mr Justice Doughty said he needed to also consider the “extraordinary history” of the case including the prolonged delays in bringing the matter to a conclusion, noting recent cases in which sentences had been reduced because of similar delays.

In all the circumstances, he found that it was appropriate to sentence Dill to 18 months behind bars but suspend that period for 18 months.

He further placed Dill on probation for a two-year period.

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