Charities blast sentence handed to paedophile dance teacher, 22, who escaped jail after having sex with two 15-year-old girls

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Charities have criticised the sentence handed to a 22-year-old dance coach who had sex with two 15-year-old girls - but avoided jail after a judge said he had their 'fulsome consent'.

Jon Broni admitted two charges of sexual activity with a child after carrying on illegal relationships with both girls at once for six months.

A judge at Manchester Crown Court said that while the behaviour was 'utterly inappropriate', it did not warrant a prison term or any hours of unpaid work.

Spared jail: Dance coach Jon Broni (left and right outside Manchester Crown Court) had sexual relationships with two underage girls at once, but was handed a community order after insisting he had consent

Instead Broni will attend a sex offenders’ treatment programme, and has been handed a five-year sexual offences prevention order which will limit his contact with children.

The judge in the case said the girls had given their 'fulsome consent' and there had been 'complete consensual compliance'.

But leading charities said the law of consent exists to protect youngsters from themselves.

Yvonne Traynor, chief executive of the Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre, said: 'The laws in this country are quite clear to protect young women from sexual predators.

'Everyone understands the age of consent so there can be no sympathy for a man who flouts the laws in this country.

'This was clearly a case of grooming and rape of young women and the sentence should reflect the seriousness of this heinous crime.'

Jon Brown, head of the NSPCC’s programmes tackling sexual abuse, added: 'It is not possible for someone under 16 to consent to sex legally.

'This law is there to protect children and young people who think they are old enough and believe they are in a loving relationship when actually the older person has taken advantage of them.

'This is made even worse when the adult is working with young people and employed in a position of trust. The adult must always take full responsibility and even if the judge decides a jail sentence is not appropriate this man can clearly not be trusted to work with children and young people again.' 

Celebrity: Broni posed for a photo with Coronation Street actress Michelle Keegan at a previous event

During the case Broni, of Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, was described as a former up-and-coming star in Manchester's street dance scene.

He organised much of his own choreography and opened his own Boulevard studios in Salford, Greater Manchester, at the age of 21.

Broni attended high-profile events and had mingled with celebrities including Coronation Street actress Michelle Keegan.

But Manchester Crown Court heard he began illegal relationships with the two underage girls towards the end of 2012.

One victim's parents allowed them to date as long as there was no sex 'until she was ready', the court heard.

He had sex with one of the girls when she stayed overnight at his studios, the court heard.

On another occasion one of the girls took a naked photo of herself in the shower, which was later discovered by her mother.

It was only then, in May 2013, that police were called. 

Neither of the girls knew about the other, and during the relationships he told both of them: 'You can’t help who you fall in love with'.

After the case unravelled the girls felt ‘tricked and sullied’, the court heard.

Lisa Judge, defending, said: 'Had these girls been kicking and screaming, he would have been charged with rape.'

Miss Judge said her client was born with a large purple birthmark that left him ‘handsome’ on one side of his face and ‘disfigured’ on the other like ‘Phantom of the Opera’.

He was bullied and isolated as he was subjected to repeated facial operations, she said.

But she added: 'The victims were children and therefore needed protection. He failed to offer them that protection.

'His remorse is palpable. He’s lost everything - he is no Billy Elliot anymore. He’ll never work in a dance school again.'

Caught: Manchester Crown Court heard Broni would 'never work in a dance school again'

He had found his calling in dance, but had not fully matured, she added.

Judge Martin Rudland said Broni had ‘exploited’ his friendship with the girls, and that while the age gap was not ‘significant,’ consent laws were there to protect the young and vulnerable from themselves. 

But he was spared jail by the judge, who said he had had the ‘fulsome consent’ of both girls. 

And the judge rejected the prospect that Broni had 'groomed' the girls when it was raised by the prosecutor earlier in the case.

'I really do think you have to be extremely careful with the use of this word grooming,' the judge said. 'There's grooming and there's grooming.

'My view is that the proper use of that term is where you have many years, a prolonged period of time, and someone in an extreme position of power... such as a stepfather or mother's partner who inculcates into a very young child the sense that utterly inappropriate sexual activity is the norm, by the use of inappropriate language or behaviour.

'That's not to say that in a situation like this there hasn't been a degree of manipulation, perhaps, but to characterise this with the use of the word grooming I think one has to be very careful.'

Broni was sentenced him to a three-year community order with a requirement to attend a sex offenders’ programme.

He was also handed a five-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which will restrict the contact he can have with children.

Sentencing, the judge told him: 'Here there was complete consensual compliance, insofar as these two girls were concerned in incremental sexual activity which took place between you and them.

'There is no doubt society condemns sexual misconduct generally and of this type. There is an age of consent in this country and it is 16, and any sexual activity under this age is unlawful.

'The age of consent is there to protect the young and vulnerable from themselves.

'You are still a very young man, still fairly immature yourself. Many years down the line that age disparity between you and the female partner would not be thought to be inappropriate at all, but when the girl is under 16 it is utterly inappropriate.'