A TROUBLED young man who targeted a ‘vulnerable’ teenager punched himself in the face after his victim said she had been left with no confidence.

Robi Sturges met a 14-year-old girl on an online suicide chat room and later shared graphic and sexually explicit messages with her over Skype, a court heard.

The 27-year-old admitted to being much older than her and told her he was not allowed to approach young girls after being sentenced for exposing himself to teenage girls in 2014.

Sturges agreed to meet his victim for a day trip in London after exchanging sexual messages from Boxing Day until the New Year, but when the young girl was reported as missing, he panicked and was later arrested by police for breaching his order.

In court the victim said: “This incident has stripped away the little confidence I had left. I find it difficult to sleep at night and trust people.

“I am afraid that Robi will harm me and I am afraid to leave my house. It has not ruined my life, but it has continually dropped my confidence.”

At this point, Stuges punched himself in the face.

Dr Simon Enwright, a psychologist who had been seeing Sturges for several months before the offences, said his actions stemmed from an emotionally unstable personality disorder caused by a range of childhood issues.

Kim Preston, mitigating, said: “As well as bullying and being isolated from his family he also suffered abuse at the hands of his family, which has caused him to be emotionally repressed.

“He is taking positive steps to overcome his problem and it is my understanding that these two people came across as kindred spirits who both struggled with low confidence.”

Judge Maria Lamb, concluded: “She was very vulnerable and your prevention order was in place to protect young girls from someone who acted like you had in the past.

“You knew exactly what you were doing and you knew you were wrong to do so.”

Sturges, of Bath Road, Reading, was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting to a meeting following grooming with a child under the age of 16 and for breaching a SOPPO.