Stock Image of A Girl Using A Computer

A father who spied on his teenage daughter to go on to find that she was having sex with a 38-year-old ice hockey coach has warned other parents to be vigilant.

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, caught a one Nicholas Lovell making sexual advances to his 15-year-old daughter.

He discovered the abuse by installing spy software on her computer.

In 2008 Lovell, from Guildford, in Surrey, was jailed for four-and-a-half years, and has since been released.

Lovell met the teenager in Bracknell, Berkshire, in 2006 while coaching her in ice hockey, and started contacting her through email and MSN messenger.

She had told her parents she was staying with a friend while she was seeing Lovell in secret. 

The parents discovered her subterfuge and alerted the police, who gave Lovell a police warning.

However, Lovell used various false names to maintain contact, hoping to evade detection.

The father said he continued to be suspicious.

"For about a month she wouldn't talk to me, but then one day this guy turned up at the ice-rink and she freaked out and called me"

With the consent of his ex-partner, he installed the spy software on his daughter's computer, and began monitoring her email and instant messenger conversations.

"My wife was trying to keep an eye on her, but kids can be sneaky," he went on to say.

By reading his daughter's emails and messages, he was able to build evidence against Lovell which led to him being jailed for four-and-a-half years in 2008 for five counts of sexual activity with a child.

Lovell was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and was also disqualified from working with children.

It was later discovered he was introducing the girl at his place of work as his girlfriend and took her to hotels for sexual relations.

"She was being groomed," said the father.

Tuesday marks the 2012 Safer Internet Day, an annual event designed to encourage people to use internet technology, including mobile devices, more responsibly.

Tuesday February 7^th 2012
The Onlines