By Joseph Curtis For Mailonline
Published: 15:26 GMT, 21 March 2019 | Updated: 15:26 GMT, 21 March 2019
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Adam Beale, 31, pictured, convinced a family he was a teenager when aged 22 in 2010 and was allowed to stay with them while he secretly abused their 13-year-old daughter
A 'manipulative' paedophile has been jailed for eight years today after he duped an entire family into believing he was a teenager so he could stay with them and sexually abuse their 13-year-old daughter.
Adam Beale pretended to be 17 when he was actually 22 so he could groom the girl under her parents' roof and was so convincing he became 'part of her family', a court heard.
He regularly made 100-mile trips to his victim's home in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and 'wormed his way' into being part of the family, convincing her parents that their relationship was purely platonic.
Portsmouth Crown Court heard the family were 'totally in the dark' about his real age and intentions, while the teenage girl, who cannot be identified, became 'infatuated' with him.
Beale, now 31 and having been convicted of a string of other child sex offences, was jailed for eight years after he admitted abusing the teenager, telling the court he was in a 'relationship' with her for 20 months.
