Festival steward jailed for sex with girl, 15

A man who had sex with a 15-year-old girl after "unlawfully" gaining access to a festival at which he had been working has been jailed for more than three years.

Alex Stokes, 32, was found guilty of penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 15 at the Latitude festival in Suffolk in July 2022.

Stokes, formerly of Burns Road in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, committed the offence after being dismissed from working as a steward.

At Ipswich Crown Court judge Nicola Talbot-Hadley took into consideration Stokes's "mental health conditions" as she sentenced him to 42 months in prison.

"You took advantage of someone who was almost half your age and under the influence of alcohol, so more vulnerable to your advances," the judge said.

The trial, which concluded in May, heard the victim and her friend started speaking to Stokes after believing he was a security guard.

The two teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been drinking alcohol and said they told the defendant they were both 15.

It was also heard that Stokes, who was 29 at the time, had told the two girls that "he was looking after celebrities" before dancing with them.

The victim, who attended the festival with her family, claimed Stokes provided them with more drinks before the two had sex close to one of the music tents.

Stokes was found guilty of penetrative sexual activity with the victim, but was cleared of rape and non-penetrative sexual activity of a girl and sexual assault.

During the sentencing hearing, the court was told Stokes, who has Tourette's syndrome, had been dismissed from his steward role sometime into his contract.

He should have surrendered his pass and refrained from returning to the site, at Henham Park near Southwold, but he did not, and ultimately regained access to the festival.

"He was there unlawfully," the prosecution said.

The judge, however, did not address this during her closing remarks.

Stokes was arrested on 27 July 2022 and initially denied the sexual activity before eventually admitting the pair had sex but claimed he thought she was older.

He said he had lied in his first police interview because he was "scared".

"Both girls had been looking forward to having a fun-filled time, and other witnesses said they looked as if they were 16 to 18 years old," said the judge.

"But you engaged in sexual intercourse with a girl who was not old enough to do that.

"The victim was [left] very embarrassed and was described as distraught, and I have no doubt it would have affected her confidence and trust in men, and her self-belief."

Stokes's partner, his mother and father, and his father's partner were present in court, and he said "I'm sorry" to them after the sentence was delivered.

He must now sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life and any contact with children under 16 must be supervised by a parent or guardian.

He was told it was likely he would be required to serve half of his jail sentence.

Latitude festival has been contacted for comment.

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