Sex abuser jailed after mum told of attack in text message

The mum found her son crying on the stairs of their home in Hartlepool.When she asked him what was wrong he told her to switch-on her phone, and he sent her a text disclosing that he had been sexually abused by a man called Nicholas Thompson.She persuaded him to tell the police, who arrested Thompson, 36.Thompson denied he had done anything wrong, but he was found guilty after a three day trial last month at Teesside Crown Court of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.Prosecutor Christine Egerton said Thompson forced the boy to perform a sex act upon him.Thompson denied in interview that he had acted in that way.Miss Egerton said that the boy's mother had made a victim impact statement about how he had been affected.Robin Denny, defending, said that mitigation in Thompson's case was limited because of his denials, but he was being sentenced for a single momentary act.Thompson, of St Anns Court, Hartlepool, was jailed for four years with a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and he was ordered to register as a sex offender for life.