A PREDATORY pervert who told a 16-year-old girl he was an undercover cop before launching a terrifying sex attack on her in a city centre has been jailed for five years.

Lee Sender, 30, pleaded guilty to the charge of sexual assault by penetration at Gloucester Crown Court in April and was handed the jail term this week.

Sender, of Pedersen Close, Dursley, met the girl while she was with her friend in Clarence Street, Gloucester, on a Saturday night in January this year. He walked her through Gloucester Park and into Weston Road, where he dragged her into an alleyway and carried out the sexual assault.

A police investigation began and following a press appeal for information, a Police Community Support Officer recognised Sender’s description and contacted officers in charge of the case.

Sender, who had a previous conviction for indecently assaulting young girls in 1999, was placed on the police national computer as 'wanted' and was later found and arrested in Leighton Buzzard.

Sentencing Sender, Judge Hart said the sexual assault of the girl was a “predatory attack on the streets of Gloucester where she thought she was safe”.

The judge said a pre-sentence report on Sender painted a bleak picture of a man with a history of drink and drug abuse, domestic violence involving strangulation and a 'complete lack of victim empathy.'

Detective Inspector Kevin McCloskey said: "The victim went through a nightmare ordeal at the hands of this man and we just hope this outcome provides some relief for the family.

"Thanks to the support of the media, the work of a PCSO and the extensive inquiries made and evidence gathered by CID, Sender had no choice but to plead as the case against him was so strong."