Army medic who already got one 15-year-old pregnant faces being booted out of the forces after having sex with a SECOND underage girl
The pair shared a tent together and during the evening had sex twice just weeks before her 16th birthday
A LOVE rat soldier faces the boot from the army for having sex with a schoolgirl cadet - while another girl was pregnant with his child.
Private Jack Burnett, 19, bedded the girl weeks before her 16th birthday despite already making another teenage girl pregnant.
A court heard the soldier - who was tipped for promotion by army chiefs - met his victim when he was an officer in charge of her at an army cadet force.
Sick Burnett arranged a camping trip with the underage girl while on home leave at Barry, South Wales, without revealing he was a father-to-be with another girl.
A court heard the two shared a tent together and during the evening the pair had sex twice.
The girl told her friends what happened days after the trip - and a week later she told her parents and police.
The girl's angry father posted a comment on Facebook to Burnett saying: "I know what you did. I hope you go to jail, you sick f***."
Burnett replied saying he didn't know what he'd done wrong - before apologising and telling the father he would speak to him when he had leave from his barracks with the First Battalion Royal Welsh regiment at Tidworth, Wiltshire.
Cops arrested him in his barracks soon after and he admitted having sex with the schoolgirl but claimed she had instigated it by scratching his back and kissing his neck.
John Lloyd, prosecuting, said: "He knew the girl's age.
"He confessed to police having sex with another 15-year-old previously. He has since fathered a child with her and is now in a relationship with her.
"She was expecting the child when he had sex with this victim."
A statement from the schoolgirl was read out in court where she described the effects the encounter has had on her.
She said: "I've lost confidence in myself and I have flashbacks about it. I've even been close to self harming.
"I'm scared of going out in case I see him. I've stopped wearing vest tops because that's what I was wearing on the night. I'm also now scared of tents."
Adam Sharp, defending, said the soldier was "highly regarded" by army chiefs who wanted to see him promoted to a corporal.
He also pointed to the fact the girl was "just days away" from turning 16 when Burnett had sex with her.
Mr Sharp said: "He is currently a team medic, and if he is not given a custodial sentence, would have attained the rank of corporal.
"His sentence and incarceration would cause him difficulties in the army.
"He showed immaturity outside of his military career which meant he was attracted to those younger than himself.
"The fact he is now in a stable relationship and a father means it will have a great impact on his maturity."
Judge Geraint Walters criticised claims about Burnett's "maturity" and questioned how with his military discipline he could have acted so "uncouth".
He also criticised Burnett's father for referring to the underage sex as "a technical error" in a written statement.
Judge Walters said: "Everyone knows having sex with a child under 16 years is plainly wrong. Everyone knows it.
"Those that are older such as yourself are expected to understand there is a line across which you may not go. In this case you willfully crossed it.
"The wickedness of what you did was have sex with her when you knew she was a child.
"You are now also the father of a young daughter only few weeks old, a child you fathered with a 15-year-old girl. You've never faced any proceedings about that because there's never been a complaint.
"Despite the fact you are in the armed forces there's something very naive and immature about you. You hang out with young people and it's that which caused you to go camping with this young girl.
"You've left her feeling a sense of hopelessness."
Burnett was given a eight months sentence suspended for two years at Newport Crown Court and must register as a sex offender for 10 years.
Army chiefs will now consider whether his conviction means he will have to leave the military.
An Army spokesman said: "All those who are found to fall short of the Army's high standards or who are found to have committed an offence under the Armed Forces Act are dealt with administratively up to and including dismissal or through the disciplinary process, as applicable."