A 22-year-old convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl has been sentenced to five years behind bars.

Kristopher Gibbons, who was 21 at the time of the incident, admitted receiving oral sex from the girl in a friend’s backyard last July, but said he was not aware of the girl’s age.

Four young men faced charges of serious sexual assault in connection to the incident, but Gibbons alone was convicted.

During the trial the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had told the court that she and her friend attended another defendant’s house on July 27 last year. They they arrived, they were greeted by a group of men.

Over the course of the event she said she was coerced into drinking rum before being raped and forced to perform oral sex by the group while her friend looked on.

On the stand., Gibbons admitted receiving oral sex from the victim and touching her genitals on the night of the incident, but told the court that the acts were fully consensual that none of the other defendants had been involved.

While his co-defendants were all acquitted by the jury, Gibbons was found guilty of serious sexual assault by a unanimous verdict.

During a hearing yesterday afternoon, prosecutor Maria Sofianos called for a sentence of between eight and 12 years in prison, saying the incident had caused “grave and unfortunate” psychological and emotional damage to both the victim and her family.

However defence lawyer Duante Williams argued that the eight months Gibbons had already spent behind bars together with a suspended sentence or period of probation would be appropriate. He stressed the defendant was a young man with no previous convictions who had recently completed his GED and was looking forward to furthering his education.

Gibbons himself told the court the incident had been a learning experience, saying: “If I had known what the future held, I never would have gotten involved in that girl, but I did and I cannot change that.”

He added: “I will never come in front of this court again, and that’s a promise because I have learned from all this.”

Acting Justice Charlene Scott noted an apparent discrepancy in sentencing — that while a jury found Gibbons guilty of serious sexual assault, that particular offence requires multiple attackers — saying she would base her sentence on the lesser offence of sexual assault.

While serious sexual assault carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, the maximum sentence for sexual assault is 20 years.

During her sentencing, the judge expressed some doubts that Gibbons was taking full responsibility for his actions, stressing the young age of the victim and the potentially lasting impact of such an assault.

“She will carry this event with her for the rest of her life,” she said.

Acting Justice Scott sentenced Gibbons to five years in prison, to be followed by one year of probation.

She further ordered that Gibbons take part in any programmes recommended by Court Services.