Sheffield man jailed for raping 12-year-old girl he met on adult dating site and filming one of sex attacks
“You knew she was incapable of consenting. You did not care”
“You willingly closed your eyes to the victim’s true age,” a judge told a Sheffield man as he jailed him for raping a 12-year-old girl.
Kern Lenehan remained silent as Judge Peter Hampton sent him to begin a jail term of four years and one month for raping the young victim across three occasions.
Sheffield Crown Court heard how Lenehan, then aged 19, and the complainant met on an adults’ dating site, with the complainant purporting to also be 19 throughout their association.
Lenehan admitted under cross-examination, however, that while he did not challenge the complainant about her age he also did not believe her to be 19, and realistically thought she was around 15.
Judge Hampton told Lenehan: “The reality is there were red warning lights flashing across the board, which you simply ignored.
“Your suggestion that you genuinely, and reasonably, believed her to be 19 was clearly a nonsense…I’ve seen pictures of her at the time.”
He continued: “You conceded you were in denial about her true age…you conceded in cross-examination that the victim looked 15, not 16…you willingly closed your eyes to the victim’s true age.
“I’m sure your motivation to do so was for there to be a sexual relationship whatever her age.”
Judge Hampton also made Lenehan, of Watch Street, Woodhouse, Sheffield, the subject of a one-year extended licence period, bringing his total sentence to one of five years and one month.
Lenehan, now aged 23, was also told he must remain on the sex offenders’ register for the rest of his life.
Sentencing hearings held over October 1 and October 2, 2026, heard how the complainant did give her “ostensible” consent to having sex with Lenehan, however children under 13 cannot legally consent to any form of sexual activity.
Prosecutor Andrew Bailey said the instances of rape, committed over three separate occasions, occurred in a tent near to the complainant’s Doncaster home.
Lenehan’s criminality was brought to light after the complainant’s brother checked her Snapchat social media account, and sent Lenahan messages asking why he was messaging a 12-year-old girl.
He subsequently ended things with the complainant, who is entitled to lifelong anonymity.
In a statement read to the court, the complainant’s mother said her daughter “struggles significantly” in the wake of Lenehan’s offending.
“I feel she has been robbed of her childhood,” she added.
Lenehan previously admitted two counts of rape of a child under 13, along with a charge of making indecent images of a child in relation to a video capturing one of the incidents.
Defending, Ishaq Usama told the court that Lenehan was only 19 at time of the offences, was, and remains “emotionally immature”.
Sending Lenehan to begin his sentence, Judge Hampton told him: “You knew she was incapable of consenting. You did not care.”