A VULNERABLE 21-year-old man who admitted to engaging in sexual activity with a child is to serve his sentence in the community.

Karl William Plut Fletcher was made the subject of community order during a hearing at Winchester Crown Court on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual activity with a 14-year-old boy.

The court heard that Fletcher was arrested in November last year following a report from the boy who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Edward Phillips prosecuting described how the boy had visited the defendant at his address and the incident later took place in Fletcher’s bedroom.

The court further heard that Fletcher has learning difficulties and a psychiatric report confirmed that his mental age of maturity is significantly less than 21.

Michael Butt, mitigating, said: “This is a man who is aged 21 who has struggled throughout his life with learning difficulties and until this matter brought him to court he would have been considered one of the more vulnerable members of society.

“He left special school at 16 to become a sole carer for his mother who had multiple illnesses.”

“Before the age of 21 the defendant’s position in life was as a full-time carer. His mother died in August last year and the defendant continued to live in the house where they lived.

Asking the judge to take the Fletcher’s vulnerability into consideration, Mr Butt continued: “These offences occurred when the defendant was in a state of bereavement, he was cast adrift and I urge your honour to consider this as having some bearing on the matter.”

Mr Butt described how Fletcher, of Knoll Court, was no longer living at the house he shared with his mother and was now situated closer to other members of his family who could monitor him in the community.

A report from the probation service also recommended that the 21-year-old would not deal well with a custodial sentence.

Sentencing Fletcher to a three-year community order requiring him to undertake 60 days of rehabilitation activities, Recorder James Watson, said: “There is much that needs to be said about your background. The features of your background mark this case out from the norm.”

Giving Fletcher credit for his early guilty plea, his previous good character and the fact that incident was isolated, Recorder Watson also addressed the impact of his mother’s death.

He said: “It is something that undoubtedly would have had a profound effect in terms of grief and bereavement.”

Further addressing the effect of the assault on the victim, he added: “The harm that such an assault may do to a boy may be present throughout his life.”

Fletcher was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for five years and he has also been placed on the sex offender register for the same amount of time.