Man exchanged 'thousands of messages' with Sandwell schoolgirl, 12, before raping her
![Man exchanged 'thousands of messages' with Sandwell schoolgirl, 12, before raping her](https://www.expressandstar.com/resizer/JB818PXiiQFgTalC5lM0by1DDX0=/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mna/JHVCKL7H3BEH3HNUSCCNGC7LEE.jpg)
A man has been jailed for nine years for the rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl from Sandwell.
Joshua Brown was said to have started texting the girl after her phone number was given to him by a friend. Despite him knowing that she was just 12 years old at the time, their conversations continued.