A man who pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child will walk away with a suspended sentence after the judge decided the crime was not serious enough to warrant time in prison.

The court was told that on June 10 last year, William Rafe, a 22-year-old carpenter, sexually touched a 15-year-old girl in New Malden, but that she had consented.

Using special legal powers to give an indication of the maximum sentence he would be likely to impose before the defendant pleads guilty, Judge Binning told Rafe that he would not be handing out an operative custodial sentence at the sentencing next month.

This was because sexual intercourse had not taken place and the girl was only six months away from her 16th birthday.

He asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared and indicated that Rafe would have to sign the Sex Offenders Register for seven years and would be liable for a suspended sentence and community rehabilitation order.

Rafe has recently been released after completing a three-month prison sentence imposed last year by Kingston Magistrates' Court for threatening to kill another woman, his ex-girlfriend Leigh O'Kelly.

At that trial last November, solicitor for the Crown Prosecution, Paula O'Toole, told magistrates that Rafe had been out drinking with friends on May 25, 2006 and went to Miss O'Kelly's house in New Malden where she was having dinner with a male friend, Mr Hopper.

The two argued about Miss O'Kelly's relationship with Mr Hopper and when Miss O'Kelly asked Rafe to leave, he slapped her.

He then left but returned later that evening with four friends, one of whom had a gun tucked in the waistband of his jeans. Rafe shouted: "Watch what happens. You're dead!" and kicked through the door of her house. He grabbed her arms and pushed her against the wall before leaving with his friends.

Rafe was convicted despite claiming that he had not been drunk and that he had not threatened to kill her.

He said that Miss O'Kelly had begun hitting him with her phone.

Rafe, of St Ann's Hill, Wandsworth, appeared in the dock unshaven and wearing a beige sheepskin coat and tracksuit bottoms and will be sentenced on April 16.