A DAD-OF-THREE who admitted having unlawful sex with a 15-year-old schoolgirl at a house in Erskine has been jailed.

Scott Crawford, 28, was originally charged with raping the girl on December 7 last year but his plea of guilty to the reduced charge was accepted by the Crown.

Prosecutor Shanti Maguire had told the High Court in Glasgow that, during a court commission hearing into the rape allegation, the girl admitted she had consensual sex with Crawford.

Ms Maguire said: “They drank alcohol, listened to music and had a takeaway meal.

“They then had sex.”

The court was also told the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, left the house and then called 999 to say she had been raped.

Defence counsel Frances Connor said his client had always been prepared to plead guilty to underage sex.

Judge Lord Mulholland had placed Crawford on the Sex Offenders Register and deferred sentence until last week for a background report to be prepared.

He told Crawford: “You have pled guilty to a very serious charge of having sex with a child.”

Crawford, of Castlemilk, Glasgow, had been granted bail but, when he returned to court last week to be sentenced, he was ordered to spend 18 months behind bars.