A KICKBOXER who was jailed for abducting a teenage schoolgirl can have no complaint about his sentence, top judges have ruled.

John-Paul Graham, 28, was jailed for 27 months in February after he admitted two counts of child abduction, and one of non-penetrative sexual activity with a child.

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Judge Elleri Rees said Graham, from Blackburn, was in his victim’s company for around 30 hours, during which he engaged in sexual activity such as ‘spooning and lying together with her’.

His abduction offences were ‘born out of a sexual motive’, the judge told London’s Appeal Court, and there was ‘significant planning’ involved.

The police had warned him about his behaviour towards the 14-year-old girl before he was caught with her.

They served Graham with a child abduction warning notice but he ignored it and was discovered with the vulnerable teenager in a secluded area of Blackburn, the court heard.

Graham, of Great Bolton Street, Blackburn, denied any predatory motive – insisting that he had been helping her resolve ‘bullying issues’.

And the case reached the Appeal Court as he challenged his sentence imposed at Preston Crown Court, claiming it was too tough.

But Judge Rees, sitting with Lady Justice Sharp and Mr Justice Sweeney, concluded: “It cannot be said that this sentence was manifestly excessive. The appeal is dismissed.”

The original court case had heard how Graham had met up with his victim in the Aldi car park, near Barbara Castle Way, before taking her to a quiet area.

Officers checked Graham’s telephone call history and found he had been contacting the girl for a while. They also found her underwear when they searched his room at the Islington Motel.

In addition to the prison sentence, he was also put on the Sex Offender Register for life, made subject to a sexual offences prevention order until further order, and given a barring order.

After the hearing, one detective described Graham as an ‘opportunist offender’.