A SCHOOLBOY was forced into a public toilet at a bus station and sexually molested, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Nigel Price beckoned the victim into the building, grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a cubicle.

Price refused to let the teenager go free until he had promised to return two hours later for a second rendezvous, said Jonah Hankin, prosecuting.

But the victim, aged 15, went to his girlfriend's home in a distressed state and her mother tipped off police, who intercepted Price near the toilet block at Bromsgrove bus station.

Price, aged 38, of Waresley Park, Hartlebury, near Kidderminster, admitted indecent assault. He was jailed for 12 months.

The victim had gone to catch a bus home when he was attacked on January 13 last year, said Mr Hankin.

Price, a man of previous good character, put a hand over his mouth inside a cubicle to keep him quiet when another man entered the toilets.

He then pulled the victim's trousers down and gave him oral sex for five seconds.

The teenager's girlfriend told police he was upset and in tears when he got to her house.

Price claimed in a police interview that he formed the impression that the victim was looking for a homosexual liaison. He had asked his age and was told he was 17.

Miss Samantha Powys, defending, said he was not predisposed to assaulting young boys and had "completely misread the signals".

She said Price was gay and was normally attracted to men aged 25 to 30. He was an intelligent man and had a long-term partner.

"He is not a paedophile," said Miss Powis.

"He accepts he was reckless, that's the extent of his criminality."

Judge Michael Mott told Price he had no business trying to read the signals from a boy he knew was under 16.

"This was child abuse," he added.