THE parents of a schoolgirl who hanged herself after being abused by a family friend have paid tribute to their "intelligent, fun, and beautiful" daughter.
Jail for man who had sex with schoolgirl found hangedBramwell Walls, 39, was arrested for abusing Georgia Hedges on May 14 – the same day she was found hanged in her bedroom.
Walls had been staying with Georgia's mother in Witham as he was a friend of the 14-year-old's father.
At Chelmsford Crown Court Walls was jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of grooming a child.
In a statement Georgia Hedges' family said following the conviction on Friday: "Although nothing will replace our loss, we feel that the sentence is a fair reflection on the seriousness of his crimes.
"Georgia was an intelligent, fun, beautiful girl who would light up the room and had an amazing sense of humour."
"She will be sadly missed by friends and family alike."
Sentencing Judge David Turner QC said: "It is difficult to think of a case of worse sexual exploitation in terms of the overall consequences."
