Latest Offenders Wakefield

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A promising teacher with his career ahead of him has been jailed after he raped a female he met during a night out.

Sam Mitchell forced himself on the victim, put his hands around her throat and slapped her across the face. He unknowingly also gave her a sexually-transmitted disease.

The 23-year-old was found guilty of three counts of rape and three counts of assault by penetration after a recent trial at Leeds Crown Court.

The court heard that Mitchell had been out on January 22 last year. He was with a friend and he met the woman in a nightclub. He had been drinking and taking drugs, but denied throughout his trial that it had affected his judgement.

They later got a taxi back to his friend’s home in Wakefield and they eventually fell asleep on a sofa.

The victim said “no” to his advances but he forced himself onto her.

Mitchell, of Canal Court, Lofthouse, appeared in court this week from HMP Lincoln where he was being held on remand.

Mitigating, Lucy Brown said there was little that could be said in Mitchell’s defence due to his denials, but did point to his young age at the time of the offences, and that he has no previous convictions.

She said that his teaching career was now over and said: “It’s the start of a difficult journey for him to accept what happened.”

Judge Andrew Stubbs KC told Mitchell: “You had the world at your feet. You were a talented and gifted young man.

“Something led you to behave that way that was totally out of character for you. The drinking and drugs must have played a part.”

He jailed him for seven years and put him on the sex offender register for life.

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A convicted paedophile ordered to stay away from an ex partner phoned her nearly 250 times in a single day, and tried to get around his court order by sending her messages within bank transfers.

Robert Pratt would deposit nominal sums into her account, often just one pence, with an accompanying reference such as “ring me”.

The 31-year-old admitted breaching a non-molestation order and a restraining order and was jailed at Leeds Crown Court.

He also admitted failing to adhere to the sex offender register by failing to tell the police that he had been living at a shared property after being released from prison.

Pratt, of Manygates Lane, Wakefield, was jailed in 2016 for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. He was given the court orders last year to keep him away from his ex partner.

Prosecutor Carmel Pearson said that Pratt sent 31 WhatsApp messages to the woman in one day, and phones her 51 times.

The next day he tried to call 249 items and sent 72 WhatsApp messages.

Mitigating, Matthew Stewart said that Pratt accepted that jail was “inevitable”. He said he had no issues with drugs or alcohol.

He said that his father was ill and that Pratt had no contact with his own three children due to the nature of his convictions.

Judge Mushtaq Khokhar jailed Lumb for 18 months.

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A Wakefield man has been jailed for 21 years after being convicted of multiple rape offences against two teenage girls.

Nadeem Hussain, aged 46, formerly of Regent Street, Wakefield; was found guilty following a four-week trial at Grimsby Crown Court of four counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration.

He was sentenced today at Grimsby Crown Court to 21 years imprisonment and was made the subject of a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which will put restrictions on him on his release from prison to further protect the public.  

The victims were aged 16 and 17 at the time of the offences.

Detective Sergeant Kirsty Senior, of Wakefield District’s Child Vulnerable to Exploitation Team (CVET), said: “Hussain has groomed his victims over a lengthy period of time, plying them with heroin and crack cocaine to enable his sexual offending.

“These were vulnerable teenage girls who he exploited. The sentence he has been given reflects the fact he is a dangerous offender who deserves to be behind bars.

“This court case has been the culmination of a two-year complex investigation by CVET. Hussain refused to accept his guilt resulting in a four-week trial and I am pleased that his victims have now got justice. That being said, no jail term can ever erase the lasting emotional, physical and psychological damage that Hussain has caused these two young girls.

“His victims have shown immense courage throughout this criminal justice process. They have been supported from the outset by specially trained safeguarding officers.

“I would urge anyone who has been the victim of child sexual exploitation or has concerns for a child to please report it so that we can safeguard the victim, protect others from harm and ensure perpetrators are made to face responsibility for their actions.”

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A pervert took advantage of a teenage girl and bribed her into carrying out degrading sexual acts in return for money and cigarettes.

Philip Greenhalgh, 61, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week having admitted a catalogue of offences against the girl dating back several years. He forced her to pose for sexual photographs and would regularly tell her she owed him for the cigarettes he gave her.

The girl, who was 15 at the time, wanted to raise money for a Mother’s Day gift and she came into contact with Greenhalgh who offered her money.

The judge, Recorder David Kelly, told him: “She wanted pocket money for a Mother’s Day present, together with the fact she had a smoking habit you encouraged by giving her cigarettes and asking for sexual favour in return.

“She was unable to tell her mother at the time because she would have had to tell her mother she was smoking cigarettes.”

Prosecutor Eleanor Fry said that he offered to buy cigarettes for her, and when he did, he asked her: “How are you going to pay me for them?”

He suggested she show him her breasts, so reluctantly, she did and Greenhalgh touched her. She went home and cried, Miss Fry said. But matters then began to escalate when he continue to touch her and ask her to masturbate him.

He would also ask her to take her clothes off and he would ask her to pose, telling her what positions to hold. He took the photos and filmed her on his phone. He would even ask he to smile while posing.

Eventually, he tried to persuade her to have sex with him but she refused. He said he was saving a condom for the time they would have sex. The girl then confessed to a friend who encouraged her to contact the police.

Greenhalgh, who was living in Leeds but now lives on Ingram Crescent in Knottingley, near Wakefield, was interviewed by police and told them he thought she was 14 at the time. His phone was checked and it was found he had performed a factory reset, but videos of the girl, along with photographs, were recovered. One video included Greenhalgh’s telling her how to pose.

On the day his trial was due to begin, he admitted 16 offences, including five counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, four counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, two of taking indecent photographs and three of making indecent photographs.

The court heard that he had five previous convictions, including a rape dating back to 1992 for which he received a two-year sentence.

Mitigating, Richard Canning said Greenhalgh had been on bail “for a number of years” and there had been no issues or further offending. He conceded: “He knows he is going to receive a lengthy sentence. He is thoroughly ashamed of what he has done, he wishes it had never happened.

“His main wish is that the complainant will get past this when she gets older.”

Recorder Kelly gave Greenhalgh an eight-year jail sentence, for which he will have to serve two-thirds, rather than the usual half, before being eligible for parole. He was also put on the sex offender register and given a life-long sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

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A paedophile who managed to stay out of jail said he would take his own life is he was put behind bars for breaching the sex offender register.

Ricky Johnson was known as Terence Murkin when he was given a suspended sentence last year for trying to groom a 13-year-old online. But he then breached the terms and was brought back before Leeds Crown Court this week.

The court heard that the 63-year-old had threatened suicide if he was jailed, but Judge Simon Batiste, who also dealt with him last year, locked him up. He told him: “In my judgement, you were warned by me that you must complete the requirements of the order. It was made to clear to you [what would happen if you didn’t comply], and I’m going to keep my word in that regard.”

He was handed a 21-month jail sentence, suspended for 24 months in February of last year when he was caught making sexual suggestions to a young girl online. The profile was run by a hunter group trying to catch out predators online.

As part of his sentence, he was also given 130 hours of unpaid work, 30 rehabilitation days, and ordered onto a sex offender programme. He was also put on the sex offender register and given a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Prosecutor Amber Walker said during routine police checks at his home on Earl Street, Wakefield, following his conviction, they found he had opened a bank account and had not told officers, which put him in breach of the sex offender register.

It was also found that he deleted his internet search history, which he is forbidden to do under the terms of the SHPO. He admitted both breaches this week, having initially denied them.

Mitigating, Leila Taleb said he had initially accepted his wrongdoing during his police interview, but said “acting on legal advice”, then denied it, before finally seeing sense.

Judge Batiste jailed him for 21 months in total, including 12 months activated from his suspended sentence. He said that steps would be taken to ensure his welfare after making the comment about taking his own life.

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A sex offender blackmailed another and threatened to expose him to his wife after hacking into his social media. Joseph Hutchinson, 33, targeted convicted sex offender Gareth Mellor after messaging him on KIK and hacking his way into his social media.

Both men have since been sentenced for indecent images offences.

Leeds Crown Court heard on Wednesday that Hutchinson had previously been sentenced for making indecent images and causing a computer to perform a function which was unauthorised. Prosecutor John Bottomley said: "He hacked two females' phones and extracted topless photographs of them. He threatened to distribute them if they didn't send more."

Hutchinson was given a suspended sentence in 2022 for the crimes, and was subject to a sexual harm prevention order. Despite this, he went on to make more indecent images of children between January 2019 and February 2023 and between December 2020 and April 2021, blackmailed Mellor. Police discovered his crimes against him after Mellor's arrest.

Mr Bottomley said: "He [Mellor] had two internet accounts associated with an email which contained a huge amount of indecent images of children. He was sentenced in December last year. During the investigation and IP login with the same email address showed it was being used by another party..."

That led police to Hutchinson and during that arrest images were discovered on a Samsung phone. Mr Bottomley said: "It was taken from a vehicle, not within the property. He was arrested and interviewed and made admissions that he pictures would be found and said he had been blackmailing the other man."

It was said that in total, Mellor paid Hutchinson, of Clifford Court in Ossett, £3,102.98, after he threatened to expose him to his wife. Mr Bottomley said: "He [Mellor] said he met the defendant sometime around 2018 or 2019 while searching for illegal pornography. He was directed to KIK by the defendant and in 2020, the defendant offered to sell him a megalink to pornography for £200.

"In 2020 he said he got a message from the defendant, 'You better get onto Kik now I know what you are and what you do.' He said he had been arrested and threatened to expose him to his wife unless he paid him money. He correctly told him [Mellor] his full address, causing him to panic. He requested money through a crypto website..."

The court heard Hutchinson continued to make demands for payment after Mellor's arrest, but he did not send any more money "Because people knew about his offending" but he "still felt anxious."

Hutchinson went on to plead guilty to blackmail and making indecent images. Mitigating, Steven Smithson, said the images offences spanned before and after a sexual harm prevention order being put in place. He added: "The defendant has reconciled to a custodial sentence. He hasn't put forward any weak protestations."

His Honour Judge Khan KC jailed Hutchinson for 38 months, telling him his offending is "more serious because of that previous conviction going back to June 2022."

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It was discovered in October last year that convicted sex offender Edwin Swallow had targeted the youngster, encouraging her to send sexually explicit photos of herself – and sending photos of his genitalia over a messaging app.

The 55-year-old pervert had been told he must inform the police of any mobile phone he was using, having previously been found guilty of an offence involving indecent images of children.

But he kept the use of his Samsung device a secret, so was breaking the rules of the court order.

Swallow, of Sullivan Grove in South Kirkby, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch a sexual act, and two counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

He was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on November 3.

Prosecuting, Abigail Langford said: “The victim’s mother contacted the police, but there was an attempt to smash the phone and the pictures were deleted. The images do not exist and so the prosecution’s case is based on descriptions.

“When the defendant was arrested, a neighbour confirmed that the defendant did have a mobile phone.”

The court heard that Swallow has since expressed remorse and recognises his long history of offending.

Michael Collins, for the defence, said: “His personal circumstances are miserable and depressing. He has two children with whom he has no contact. He has no significant relationship. He lives alone and is in debt.

“If there’s any brightness, it’s because he had a job. Of course, he has now lost that as well. There are no positives in his life.”

Swallow has a history of mental health issues and self-harm, including suicide attempts.

Recorder Jason Pitter said the defendant poses a high risk of reoffending and causing serious harm to children.

He added: “You are someone who targets young girls. Your previous convictions set that out. Your determination to fulfil, as you see them, your sexual desires are illustrated in this case despite the barrier put in place to prevent this very activity.”

Swallow was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, extended by five years on licence.

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David Dunn, 39, who is originally from Pontefract, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court today for non-recent sexual offences, including rape.

Dunn was found guilty of offences of rape of a child and causing a child to engage in sexual activity in relation to one young male victim and attempt rape of a child and indecency with a child against another young male.

The offences were committed in the Wakefield District area between the years 2002 and 2009.

The offending came to police attention after both of the victims came forward separately to police in 2019 and reported what had taken place.

An investigation was launched by specialist child protection officers at Wakefield District.

Detective Constable Sophie Green, who investigated the case, said: “We are pleased to see Dunn sentenced today for what were some awful sexual offences committed against two young and vulnerable children.

“Their courage in reporting these dreadful offences and in supporting the prosecution against Dunn has meant that a dangerous sexual offender had been forced to answer for his crimes and been punished for them.”

She added: “This case is another reminder to victims that it is never too late to tell us if you have been the victim of offending such as this.

“We really do not underestimate how hard it is to come forward, but I want to make clear that we will do all we can to help you very rightly seek justice and access any support you may need.”

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Stephen Pocklington, who has been jailed before for crimes against children, made contact with girl over Messenger earlier this month, but was a decoy profile run by a paedophile hunter group.

Leeds Crown Court was told that the 50-year-old initially asked an innocuous question about liking chocolate, and when the profile responded making it clear she was just 12, he told her not to tell anyone.

It quickly turned sexual and over the course of two days, he encouraged her to masturbate and asked if he could perform sex acts on her, prosecutor Gareth Henderson-Moore said. He also asked for her phone number and when she would be alone, telling her it would be their secret.

The case was handed to another hunter group who then went to his home on Clifton Road, Sharlston Common, Wakefield. The court was told that Pocklington has five convictions for 17 offences, 12 of which are against children. He was jailed for 33 months in 2018 for multiple counts, including causing a child to watch sexual activity. He also attempted to pay a child for sexual services.

He was put on the sexual offender register and given a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

For his latest offending, he admitted attempting to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, breach of the SHPO and breach of the terms of the sex offender register.

Mitigating, Ian Cook told the court: He understands his only real mitigation it entering his guilty pleas at an early opportunity and co-operating with the police investigation. He has expressed a willingness and desire to work with probation in the prison environment to get to the bottom of his offending that causes him great shame. He feels it is triggered by alcohol misuse.

Jailing him for 32 months, and putting him on the sex offender register indefinitely, Judge Simon Phillips KC said: Its part of a clear pattern of offending behaviour. You pose a risk towards female children. This was determined sexualised behaviour towards what you thought was a young child.

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A WEST YORKSHIRE man described as a dangerous sexual predator by police has been jailed for attempting to rape a child.

Kristian Annus, 29, from Lincoln Street, Wakefield, was jailed for 10 and a half years at Leeds Crown Court today (Wednesday), after pleading guilty to an attempted rape offence in the Kirklees area.

The 29-year-old was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which will place restrictions on his activity following any release from prison and will remain on the Sex Offender Register for life.

Officers arrested Annus on February 19 of this year after receiving a report he had sexually offended against a child.

He was charged two days later and was remanded in custody by the courts.

PC Jay Laughton of the Kirklees District Child Safeguarding Team said: “Annus is without doubt a dangerous sexual predator and we welcome his conviction and sentencing.

“He took advantage of his young victim in the most appalling way and subjected him to what has clearly been a dreadful offence.

“I want to praise the bravery of the victim and his family in reporting what took place and then supporting the prosecution which has put this man behind bars.”

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Daniel Hudson aged 35, was sentenced on Thursday at Leeds Crown Court for the offences, which occurred at an address in Leeds against a 14-year-old girl.

Hudson, from the Lupset area, was found guilty of five sexual offences against the victim.

The trial heard how Hudson had befriended the victim, buying gifts and food for her to make her think she was in a romantic relationship with him. It also heard how the sexual abuse had started once he had secured her trust. 

Detectives in Wakefield opened an investigation in June 2020 after reports were received of Hudson’s offending. 

Detective Constable Ashleigh Gath-Clark, said:

“This has been a complex investigation spanning over three years.

“Daniel Hudson was responsible for a catalogue of appalling sexual abuse against this vulnerable child.

“These were awful offences that he committed, and I would like to commend the victim for their courage and bravery in coming forward and reporting the offences to the police at a young age. 

“This was a challenging investigation and I welcome the sentence that has been passed. I hope that it provides reassurance to the victim and their family, as well as the wider community.”

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An ageing music teacher masturbated during online lessons he would provide for children, and then used advance computer software to superimpose pupils’ heads into sexual scenes.

Warped 70-year-old Paul Moxon taught freelance lessons from his home in the Wakefield area using the meeting platform, Zoom. But he was caught out when a horrified pupil noticed he had taken his trousers down during one of her lessons.

She then caught sight of him performing a sex act on himself. The youngster suspected he had done it before but had previously covered his genitals with the musical instrument he was teaching, prosecutor Gerald Hendron told Leeds Crown Court.

The girl told her parents and the police were called. Moxon was arrested and internet devices and hard drives seized. They found more 1,000 illegal indecent images made up of Category A – the most serious – and Category B. But even more disturbingly, they found recordings of online lessons with pupils, from which Moxon then superimposed still images of the youngsters into sexual scenes involving himself. He even put audio of the victims’ speaking during lessons into the vile scenes.

Mr Hendron suggested that pupils were coerced into saying certain words that could be construed as sexually suggestive, in order for him to place them into his sick videos and fuel his sexual gratification. It was eventually found that there were several other victims.

The court heard that he had masturbated in front of the victims on multiple occasions. He was not affiliated to teaching at any schools in the area.

Moxon, of Wakefield Road, Normanton, gave no comments during two police interviews. He later admitted eight counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, and two of making indecent images.

He has no previous convictions, but his defence barrister Satpal Roth-Sharma said that he has accepted he had thrown away his long and distinguished career as a music tutor.

She said: “These are serious offences and he was a teacher in a position of trust which he wholly abused. He has had a shining career and one has to wonder what has triggered this. He has no previous convictions, he has never even had a speeding ticket in his life.

"Regrettably, his sexual behaviour has led to this, and he does not seek to avoid accepting that. He has become separated from his family and loneliness has played a part.”

The judge, Recorder David Gordon told Moxon: “This is extremely serious sexual offending, this was an abuse of trust. You were trusted by the parents of these children to help teach them music.”

He said of the superimposed images: “You are somebody with computer skills who manipulated those images for your own sexual gratification.”

He jailed him for three years and gave him a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) designed to monitor his internet use and ban him from contact with children. The order will last for life, while he will also be on the sex offenders register for life.

Moxon is also barred from ever teaching young people again.

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A MAN has been sentenced to over a decade behind bars after being found guilty of non-recent sexual offences against young girls.

On Friday, Jason Cartledge, 42, of Charles Street, Wakefield, was sentenced to 14 years, which includes a 10-year custodial sentence and four years on extended licence.

The investigation began in 2019 when a woman came forward to report non-recent sexual abuse.

Officers from Wakefield District Safeguarding identified a substantial number of witnesses and during this time a second woman disclosed further non-recent sexual abuse.

Cartledge was arrested in June 2019 regarding the initial report and further arrested in December 2020 for the second disclosure. He was later charged with a number of sexual offences. 

He appeared at Leeds Crown Court and following a lengthy trial, he was found guilty of six offences, three counts of sexual activity with a child and three counts of indecent assault of a child.

He will remain on the Sex Offender Register for life and has been given a Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and Restraining Order preventing him from contacting the victims.

Commenting on the sentencing, Detective Constable Kerry Wiles, of West Yorkshire Police, said:

“I would like to praise the incredible courage and bravery of the victims in this case for coming forward to report the offences, but also for having to endure the criminal justice process where the trauma was relived due to Cartledge refusing to admit his guilt on all the charges.

“Cartledge preyed upon the vulnerability of these young victims, and I hope that these victims will find some comfort that justice has been served. I thank them for having the confidence in the police that what they said to officers would be listened to.

“The offending, in this case, went back over a decade, but despite the passage of time, we investigated his crimes and brought him justice.

“I would encourage anyone who has suffered any sort of abuse either recent or not to come forward and speak to police. You will be listened to and given the help and support you need.

"We have specially trained officers who will work tirelessly to bring any perpetrators to justice.”

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A MAN previously sentenced to almost 20 years for a string of child sexual offences has been jailed for three more years following a further investigation by detectives.

Mark Greenwood, of Normanton, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court in 2019 after he pleaded guilty to six sexual offences and three counts of making indecent images of a child.  

Following his conviction, a second complainant came forward to report that she had been abused by Greenwood as a young child.

Detectives at the Wakefield District Safeguarding Unit opened an investigation into this report and Greenwood was later charged with sexual assault.

The 57-year-old pleaded guilty to the charge when he appeared before Leeds Crown Court in November. He was sentenced today.

He remains on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and subject to indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Detective Constable Will Denton, of the Wakefield District Safeguarding Unit, said: “We welcome the extension to Greenwood’s sentence and commend the bravery of the victim and her family for coming forward and speaking with our officers.

“There is no doubt that he is a dangerous man who deserves to remain behind bars for a substantial amount of time.

“I hope this result will encourage other victims to engage with our specially trained officers who work tirelessly to bring offenders to justice.”

Anyone with child safeguarding concerns is advised to contact either West Yorkshire Police or their local authority’s children’s social services.

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Carl Mardel, who has no fixed address, used a dating app to message two girls, ages 12 and 14, earlier this year.

After vivid discussions of sex with the two profiles, he attempted to meet one of the girls in a Wakefield parking lot.

But Mardel was unaware these were decoy profiles being run by a pedophile hunter group and he was quickly arrested by West Yorkshire Police officers who today hailed his prison sentence.

Carl Mardel was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.

At a sentencing hearing at Leeds Crown Court, it was revealed that Mardel used a mobile dating app earlier this year.

The pedophile hunter group set up two decoy profiles on the app – claiming to be a 12-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl.

Mardel texted the alleged 12-year-old for two months, asking for intimate details about her body and explaining the sexual intercourse.

The 14-year-old Bait’s profile was messaged by Mardel in October, where he again asked for intimate details about the victim and suggested they meet for sex.

Mardel visited the girl in a Pontefract car park before being arrested by police on October 20 this year.

During his arrest, Mardel said, “I can’t believe I was that stupid. I ruined my life and that of my wife and daughter.”

The court heard how the defendant was jailed in 2000 for violently raping a 15-year-old girl and was only removed from the sex offender register in 2019.

Mardel had pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to date a girl under the age of 16 and two counts of sexual communication with children.

James Littlehales defended Mardel, saying in court: “He is determined to deal with his offensive behaviour.

“I accept that there is still a considerable way to go.

“He is determined to use his sentence wisely and address his criminal conduct.

“Admitting that he ruined his life shows he understands the seriousness of what he did.”

Recorder Mark McKone sentenced Mardel to two years and eight months in prison with an extended license term of six years. Mardel was issued a Sexual Violence Prevention Order and will remain on the sex offender registry for life.

Rec McKone told Mardel, “They had extensive contact with two decoys who pretended to be girls, ages 12 and 14.”

DS Ben Howley of the Kirklees Police Online Investigation Team said: “Mardel is a committed sex offender and we welcome the judgment handed down by the court today.

“He had every intention of committing serious sex offenses against what he believed to be a minor woman after snooping on online conversations, but now he faces jail time instead.

“Online child sex offenses are taken incredibly seriously by West Yorkshire Police, with all offenses being thoroughly investigated.