A 30-year-old internet predator from Leigh, Greater Manchester, who abducted and raped a 12-year-old girl after meeting her on Snapchat, has been sentenced to prison for 14 years, according to reports.

John Phoenix reportedly plied the young girl with Jagerbomb at a nightclub until 3 am. Reports state that he met the girl at the club after sending a taxi to pick her up from her family home, according to the Daily Mail.

After the youngster reached the club, he got her drunk and made her perform a "long, protracter" kiss with his girlfriend and then brought the drunk girl back to his apartment. Phoenix reportedly raped the girl while she lay unconscious on his bed and she discovered that he had intercourse with her after she woke up 14 hours later in the noon.

The girl's mother reported her missing on the night she was picked up by the cab and police officials finally rescued the victim after three days of search. Reports state that during the search for the girl, the officials had made a public appeal for any information about the girl's whereabouts.

Phoenix was later apprehended by police officials and claimed that he thought that the girl was 17.

Phoenix reportedly spotted her picture online, confirming she was 12 and asked her: "Is that you?" to which she replied with a "yes." The assailant, however, continued to keep her in his flat while he went out with his friends.

Phoenix was later apprehended by police officials and claimed that he thought that the girl was 17. Reports state that the minor has attempted to hang herself ever since the incident.

The girl's mother, in a statement, said: "This is every parent’s worst nightmare and I feel like I have failed in my parental duties. I felt so angry when he said that he thought she was 17. I am so worried about her, I have even contemplated sleeping by the front door just in case she tries to leave again."

A 30 year old man from Leigh who groomed a fourteen year old girl on social media, so he could lure her to a nightclub and later rape her, has been jailed for 14 years. Police say John Phoenix is a despicable predator #HeartNews pic.twitter.com/hUwNkiSBCa — North West News (@HeartNWNews) September 14, 2018

"She is so precious to me, and I don’t want to hear how she blames herself for what happened and how she wants to die. When I found out what the female did to my daughter as well, I felt sick. I found it hard to comprehend," the mother said.

"What happened with John Phoenix will change me forever; I thought he was a friend. Finding out the science results, I couldn’t believe it, and I was so upset. I will not refer to it as sex, I will refer to it as the mean thing because it was a mean thing to do. I was so upset with myself because I didn’t think an adult of John’s age would ever do anything like that to a 12-year-old," the girl was reported as saying.

"If I don’t really know what John wanted then how will I be able to judge anybody else in the future. I feel like I will be in the dark," the girl added, according to the Daily Mail.

Phoenix later admitted to rape at Bolton Crown Court and was also found guilty of child abduction. He has been sentenced to 14 years of prison while his 29-year-old girlfriend Stacey Westwood, who admitted to sexual assault was given a four-month jail sentence suspended for two years. Westwood was also ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for seven years.