A young Essex man who ‘deluged’ a child with sexual phone calls from inside prison has narrowly avoided further jail time.

Tranele Green, 18, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty on July 13 to having sexual conversations with a 15-year-old girl while inside Chelmsford Young Offenders Institution between May and June 2020.

On Monday, he was sentenced to a community order, having already spent three-and-a-half months on remand following his arrest outside Chelmsford Young Offenders Institution on July 1.

Judge David Turner QC expressed dismay at Green’s criminal history, describing 20-plus convictions for 40 offences, including violence, disturbance, intimidation, attempted robbery, robbery and harassment, which resulted in custodial sentences from 2017 to 2020.

He said: “As I looked at your record of offending in the last four years, I have felt nothing but concern and anxiety.

“It’s a picture of a relatively young person throwing away his life.

“If you want to continue in this direction you are going the right way about it, but I sincerely hope you don’t.

“There are people who want to help you.

“Nobody could read your history without feeling sadness.”

Green was placed in care at a young age and was “neglected emotionally and practically.”

The court heard how he made numerous sexual phone calls to the 15-year-old, with whom he had a previous relationship and knew to be underage, while serving a four-month sentence.

He tried to blame his cellmate initially, claiming he was only maintaining contact with the girl as she held his online banking details.

“You deluged her with calls and then tried to blame other people,” Judge Turner said.

On July 13 he pleaded guilty to the offence at Chelmsford Magistrates Court.

When considering his sentence, the judge took into consideration the significant period he had already served on remand.

Under the community order, he is required to attend a program for sexual offenders, undertake 200 hours of unpaid work for the benefit of the community and attend 20 rehabilitation meetings to address his misuse of cannabis and emotional wellbeing.

“You need professional help to work through issues in your life, not least the sexual offences issues,” he added.

“If you fail to engage, the order will be revoked, and you will receive a prison sentence.”

Green must also sign the sex offenders register for the next five years.