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Description

A charity shop worker has been jailed for two years for possessing extreme child abuse images, after being cleared of exposing herself to two 11-year-old girls.

Samantha Norris was acquitted by a jury at Southampton Crown Court of the two charges of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child which were alleged to have taken place on July 27, 2023. The prosecution had claimed that Norris, who is in the process of gender transitioning, had exposed her penis deliberately to the two youngsters through the window of her flat.

The 56-year-old was also cleared earlier in the trial of two further charges of engaging in sexual activity and two of indecent exposure. Norris told the court that she was a naturist who was habitually naked in her own home and the children could only have seen her naked if they had been spying on her.

Norris, who worked at a Sue Ryder charity shop in her home town of Ringwood, Hampshire, said she had been the victim of abuse from youngsters in the town and she felt these girls had been taunting her. During the trial Charles Gabb, prosecuting, told the jury that Norris was naked by the window when she was seen by the two girls on two days in a row.

He said: The defendant, Miss Norris, now transitioning, she has a penis, was standing there fully naked, on the first day almost glorifying in that nudity over quite a period of time knowing the girls were there and drawing attention to herself. And the next day when she saw them again and she was naked, glorying in her nudity, almost posturing, definitely manipulating her penis with these two young girls being able to see all this. The Crown would suggest there was no attempt to cover up, no attempts of any modesty or propriety.

He said that one of the girls described the defendant throwing her penis around and added both children could see her playing with her penis and knowing the children were watching. It certainly caused alarm for these two children and an element of distress as well.

Norris told the court she thought the children had only seen her head and shoulders and, when asked why she did not put clothes on, replied: Because I am a naturist and I didnt see it was necessary in my own home. She added: For people like me, we can provide an object of curiosity, so we attract unwanted attention and various behaviours related to it. I have seen it quite a lot. I think they got themselves wound up and were taunting me for a while.

After the jury returned its not guilty verdicts, Norris, entered guilty pleas to three charges of making indecent images of children of categories A, B and C, one count of possessing prohibited images of children and a charge of possessing an extreme image depicting a person engaging in sexual activity with an animal.

As well as the prison sentence, Judge Nicholas Rowland made Norris subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years. The court the defendant had 16,000 images of children including about 2,000 still and 121 moving images of category A seriousness. The images included children aged as young as three with others showing youngsters aged about six in distress and pain, the court heard.

Sentencing Norris, Judge Rowland said that Norris had also in her possession written notes describing sexual fantasies involving a four-and-a-half year old child and a New Years resolution to have sex with a girl under 10.

He told the defendant: Its all about you Samantha Norris and not the victims. You do not accept they are victims, you have distorted views and you do not feel your offending should be treated as serious how would a right-minded person think about that? Your views are alarming and complex you present a high risk of harm to children.

He added: Its pretty blatant to me that you decided not to enter guilty pleas (earlier) as these pleas would have gone in front of the jury of the other matters.

Description

A sex offender has been jailed after targeting teenagers in Tenterden in November 2023.

On Friday 3 November and Monday 6 November 2023, Joseph Kemp, 33, approached teenage girls in the Ashford Road area of the town and made inappropriate comments to them.

Investigation

The girls reported the incidents and, following an investigation by the East Kent Vulnerability Investigation Team, Kemp was charged on Thursday 9 November.

Kemp, of Tenterden Road, Cranbrook, pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and two counts of attempting to engage in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

Jailed

He was sentenced to three years and seven months’ imprisonment at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday 14 March 2024.

Description

A delivery driver arranged to meet a schoolboy and go back to his house while he was in the course of making drop-offs in the company van, a court has heard. When father-of-two Tyrone Felton arrived at the rendezvous he was was met not by a child but by plain clothes police officers, and an examination of the van revealed its internal CCTV cameras had been covered up.

Sending the 54-year-old to prison a judge at Swansea Crown Court told him the sooner he came to terms with the fact he had "paedophile tendencies" the better it would be for him and for society. He said he sincerely hoped the defendant would take advantage of sex offender education programmes that were available behind bars.

Dean Pulling, prosecuting, said in February this year a decoy profile purporting to belong to a 14-year-old boy was deployed on social media as part of an operation by Tarian, the southern Wales organised crime unit, to identify potential online sex offenders. He said Felton - who was going by the online name Dave1 - made contact with the profile and they began chatting. The court heard the decoy talked about school and made it clear he was aged 14, and Felton said that was fine. During the conversation Felton asked the boy about his underwear and asked if he could "accommodate" if they were to meet.

The court heard Felton told the decoy he was a delivery driver and was currently in Cowbridge heading west to Haverfordwest, and plans were made to meet "at a public place" in Carmarthen so the defendant could pick up the boy and go to the teen's house. At lunchtime Felton arrived at the rendezvous in his van to be met by undercover police officers who had been sent to the location. The court heard that when the defendant's van was searched officers found the internal CCTV cameras in the vehicle had been obscured by a fleece jacket and caps. The defendant was taken to Dafen police station and subsequently answered "no comment" to all questions asked in interview. Mr Pulling said as the Tarian operation was ongoing the name being used by the decoy profile, the social media platforms it was operating on, and the location of the meeting point in Carmarthen would no be revealed in open court.

Tyrone Felton, of Heol Heddwch, Seven Sisters, Dulais Valley, Neath, had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, attempted sexual communications with a child, and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has a conviction from 1991 for gross indecency with a child and attempted kidnapping of a child, an incident which saw him exposing his penis to young children and inciting them to touch it.

Harry Dickens, for Felton, said the defendant had gone online to meet and talk to men but his use of the apps "spiralled", and he said the father-of-two could not explain what had precipitated offending that was before the court. He said the defendant "wished he had never done it" and was "deeply sorry".

Judge Paul Thomas KC said the defendant's antecedent record showed that he had had "paedophile tendencies" for a considerable period of time and it may be that sometimes they were "latent" and others "active". He said it was clear from the contents of the pre-sentence report that Felton was in denial, and he told the defendant that the sooner he came to terms with that fact he had a problem the better it would be for him and for society. He noted Felton was not particularly remorseful for his actions but was remorseful for the impact on his family.

With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas Felton was sentenced to two years in prison - he will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the next five years, and will be a registered sex offender for the same length of time. Judge Thomas told Felton he sincerely hoped he would take advantage of sex offender education programmes that were available in custody.

Description

A sexual predator has been jailed for 15 years for coercive controlling behaviour and raping a woman in Gosport.

Connor Richard Barnes, of no fixed address on the Isle of Wight, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court on Thursday, January 18, where a jury found him guilty of two charges of rape and coercive controlling behaviour.

The offences took place between January 2020 and March 2022.

Following the verdict, the 28-year-old was remanded in custody until appearing again at the court on Tuesday, March 12, where he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

Description

An "unrepentant sexual predator" who failed to change his ways was jailed after being snared by paedophile hunters. Roy Moseley sent sickening images and messages to a decoy, who he believed to be a 13-year-old schoolgirl

The 66-year-old set up a profile on Chat-Avenue using his middle name, which a judge said was 'no doubt an attempt to conceal his true identity and avoid detection'. Over three-and-a-half months, Moseley had "persistently tried to persuade" the 'girl' to engage in sexual activity, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

He lied to the 'girl' about his age, telling her he was 45 and, despite being told her young age "right from the very start", he made reference to his penis and finding her sexually desirable. The court was told Moseley had "persisted in forcefully asking her to send pictures" and asked her to watch as he carried out vile acts.

Moseley had sent explicit photographs and videos to the 'girl' on "multiple occasions" and made suggestions as to how she could avoid detection by her family when sending him the pictures he had asked for. He also attempted to make video calls and made "continual sexualised suggestions" as to what he would like to do to her during the conversations, which spanned between August 29 and December 10 last year.

As she sentenced Moseley on Thursday, March 14, Her Honour Judge Amy Jacobs told him: "There is a wealth of evidence obtained over the last few years about the lasting harm that is caused to children through sexual abuse such as this. And it's lucky in your case no children were harmed, because the child with whom you thought you were communicating with was a decoy, she doesn't exist."

She continued: "You have been convicted of similar offending before. In 2012, you were convicted for making and possessing indecent images of children, and that led to a community order, with a requirement to participate in a sex offender treatment programme. Although I'm told you did complete that programme, clearly, you didn't change your ways as a result of it because in 2019, you were convicted of similar offences to these and you were sent to prison.

"To put it bluntly, you are an unrepentant sexual predator, who repeatedly seeks sexual gratification with children and you have not been willing or able to resist your sexual desire for children, despite, what must have been significant input from the probation service."

Moseley, who lived in Worcester Court, Wolverhampton, was jailed for 44 months after pleading guilty to two charges. For attempting to to cause/incite a child to engage in sexual activity - no penetration - he received 44 months, and for attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, he was given 20 months, to be served concurrently. He was told he would serve up to half of the sentence in custody before being released on licence. He was told time spent on remand in custody would count towards the sentence.

The judge also made Moseley the subject of a 15-year sexual harm prevention order and told him it was "necessary to try to prevent you from causing similar harm in the future". She continued: "You've clearly not learned your lesson from the offences of which you've previously been convicted and which span a large number of years. I very much hope that on this occasion, you are able to access some help whilst you are in custody so that when you are released we do not have to deal with you once again for this kind of offending."

Description

A CONVICTED sex offender from Abergele who used multiple aliases to speak to children has been jailed.

Arfon Griffiths, 44, of Ger y Mor, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment at Caernarfon Crown Court today (March 15).

He had previously admitted numerous counts of breaching his sexual harm prevention order, two offences of failing to comply with sex offenders register notification requirements, and one charge of attempted sexual communication with a child.

Prosecuting, David Mainstone told the court that Griffiths became a convicted sex offender in 2013, when he was jailed for inciting children to engage in sexual activity.

It was because of this conviction that he became subject to a sexual harm prevention order.

But on February 17, 2023, using the name “Liam Williams”, he sent a series of messages on social media to a girl, placing him in breach of the order.

When police attended Griffiths’ home on March 9, 2023, a mobile phone found under a mattress was seized by officers.

Analysis of the phone found that Griffiths had been communicating with four other girls, whom he told he was a 17-year-old, on the internet.

In the case of three of the four girls, the communication was not sexual in nature, brief and garnered little response, though Griffiths did compliment them on their looks.

But communication was sexual with the fourth girl, who was described as being “extremely vulnerable”.

Griffiths complimented her on her cleavage, told her she would be “amazing in bed”, and asked her to send him a “sexy pic”.

In communicating with four of these girls, Griffiths used another name; “Lee Jones” – he had failed to disclose either aliases with police.

One of Griffiths’ victims said his actions have made her feel “unsafe” and “anxious”, adding that she worries about seeing him and suffers nightmares about him.

She said: “I used to enjoy going out with my friends when we were off school. However, now, I second-guess whether to go.

“I never thought it could happen to me.”

Defending Griffiths, who had one previous conviction for two offences, Elen Owen said he has made “full and frank admissions” about his offending behaviour.

Griffiths has, “in his own words”, Ms Owen said, “let himself down”, and “beats himself up about what he’s done”.

“He hasn’t, at any stage, sought to make excuses,” she added.

Sentencing, Judge Nicola Saffman criticised the decision to initially bail Griffiths, rather than remand him in custody, as he was at a later date.

Griffiths “should never, ever” have been bailed, Judge Saffman said.

She added: “The impact that’s been caused to her (the victim who gave the aforementioned statement) is as a result of an error made by those who took the decision to bail him.”

An indefinite restraining order was issued, while Judge Saffman ordered all devices seized from Griffiths to be forfeited and destroyed.

Description

A prison officer sexually assaulted a young woman and used fake profiles to abuse her online. Christopher Gould, who worked at HMP Parc in Bridgend, tried to "control, dominate, and sexually abuse" the teenage victim, Cardiff Crown Court heard.

The 45-year-old from Maesteg used a range of fake social media accounts to "befriend" the victim and her friends. Gould was then able to monitor her whereabouts and whom she was with. On one occasion he pretended to be a disgruntled customer at her place of work and used a pseudonym to email a malicious complaint to her employer, which caused her to be fired from her job.

The sexual assault happened following a night out when the victim was feeling "upset and paranoid, thinking she was being stalked" because of the relentless online campaign against her. The person she turned to in her distress was Gould whom she believed to be a caring and trustworthy adult but was in fact the architect of that campaign. After giving her a lift home he sexually assaulted her.

In her personal statement, read out in court, the victim said: “He tried to destroy me and my life. It led to me having a deep mistrust of others – something I worry will take a long time to overcome. I felt sick, I couldn't eat, I would hyperventilate, and went into a downward spiral. It has left me constantly looking over my shoulder for danger... I want Chris to know he loses his power over me. I refuse to allow his twisted, abusive, and controlling behaviours to dictate my future."

Gould, of Cwrt Coed Parc, pleaded guilty to controlling, coercive behaviour and malicious communications. He denied sexual assault but a jury found him guilty. He had no previous convictions though he received a caution for theft in 2016.

His barrister Owen Williams said Gould was a prison officer for seven months. He resigned when the allegations were made and later found employment in insurance but was dismissed from that job following the jury's guilty verdict. Mr Williams added: "Throughout his adult life he has worked consistently. He is living with his parents in their home. He provides care to them because both to some extent are elderly and unwell."

The judge said Gould was "completely obsessed and infatuated" with the young woman, and had tried to "control, dominate, and sexually abuse" her. He imposed a jail term of four years. Gould will serve half that time in custody and the remainder on licence. He must pay a £190 victim services surcharge.

Detective constable Cath Moore of South Wales Police said: “This was a complex case where the victim showed tenacity and courage to come forward and make a complaint. After a prolonged investigation we were able to link the social media and email accounts back to Christopher Gould. It takes tremendous courage and bravery for victims of sexual offences to revisit what are traumatic times in their lives, especially as the offences often remain hidden from family and friends. My message to victims out there is that it is never too late to come forward and report matters. We will fully support you and do everything we can to bring abusers to justice.”

Description

A man who began sexually abusing a boy nearly 30 years ago has been jailed – after the victim’s family made an audio recording of him admitting his crimes.

Anthony Moore committed the abuse between 1994 and 1998, while living in the Charnwood area. His crimes came to light in 2022 when his victim – now an adult – told police about what had happened.

When interviewed by detectives from the Child Abuse Investigation Unit’s non-recent team, he initially denied the claims. However, he then answered ‘no comment’ to all further questions when an audio recording made by people known to the victim was played to him, in which he could be heard admitting what he was alleged to have done.

He was subsequently charged with seven counts of indecent assault on boy under the age of 16 years and five counts of gross indecency with a boy under 16 years of age. He pleaded guilty to both offences when he appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on 14 July last year.

Yesterday (Thursday 14 March) at Leicester Crown Court, the 58-year-old was sentenced to 10 years and eight months’ imprisonment.

Moore, of Lonsdale Road in Stamford, Lincolnshire, was made subject to a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and a lifetime restraining order forbidding contact with the victim.

Detective Constable Aisling McPhillips, the officer in the case, said: “Moore was an adult when the abuse began – and the victim was a child. The abuse started nearly 30 years ago and I’m certain he thought his crimes would never come to light.

“However, his victim has shown great courage in reporting what happened to police, meaning that Moore is now serving time in prison for what he did and I hope he can continue to move on with his life.

“I also hope this case serves as an example to any other victims of non-recent sexual abuse that it’s never too late to report things to police and that we will endeavour to bring those responsible to justice.”

Description

A pair of Derbyshire brothers, who carried out a “sustained and determined” campaign of sexual abuse against young girls, have been jailed for more than two decades. Bryan and Ian Wren gave the victims cash and sweets to buy their silence as they touched them sexually multiple times, Derby Crown Court heard.

The siblings, now both in their 70s, then carried on with their normal lives leaving the now women “utterly destroyed”. At one stage, after being arrested, Bryan Wren called his brother and told him “I have been a naughty boy”. And one of the victims this week broke down as she bravely read out her impact statement saying “you may see this as historical, but it’s not historical to me”.

Jailing Bryan Wren, who less than seven years ago was sent to prison for sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl, for a total of 13 years and four months, Judge Shaun Smith KC said: “Some people who know you have high regard for you. They were not subjected to the abuse you subjected your victims to.

“You destroyed (one of your) victim’s lives, completely and utterly destroyed it. You could obviously live with what you did because it did not stop you abusing another girl who was even younger in 2015 and for which you were sent to prison in 2017 and rightly so.

“You took many opportunities to abuse her in ways which satisfied your sexual desires and while you lived your life, she has had a life of complete misery. What you did to her has turned her into a wreck, mentally.”

Jailing Ian Wren for seven years for abusing a different underage victim, the judge said: “You might have put it behind you but it has stayed with her forever and will continue to do so even after your release. She stayed silent for 45 years and buried what happened to her so deep but then she gets the double whammy of finding out your brother had been doing things to the other victims at the same time.”

Richardo Childs, prosecuting, said the sexual abuse of the victims began more than four decades ago when they were under the age of 13. He said it included multiple occasions where the brothers touched the girls sexually and then gave one of them 50p and another one of them sweets.

He said it took them decades to pluck up the courage to report their ordeals to the police and an investigation began and led to multiple charges against both men.

One of them read her own victim impact statement to the court. In it she said: “I have been filled with hurt and shame for so many years and for over 45 years I have been silent and I hope they finally understand that their behaviour is unacceptable? You may see this as historical, but it’s not historical to me.”

A second victim’s statement was read by the prosecutor. In hers, she said: “The abuse I suffered left me traumatised and not feeling worthy of life. I moved out of Derby to get a clean slate.”

Bryan Wren, 76, formerly of Mundy Street, Derby and now of Wilton Street, Ilkeston, pleaded guilty to a number charges including indecency with a child and sexual abuse of a girl under the age of 13.

Lesley Pidcock, mitigating, said: “He has a similar conviction from the 1980s and went through two years of electric shock treatment at the former Pastures Hospital (in Derby). It may be felt to be trite but he offers his apologies, his regret, remorse and shame.”

Ian Wren, 73, of Pinfold Lane, Bradley, Ashbourne, also pleaded guilty to similar charges against his single victim. James Varley, his barrister, said: “He worked his life on market stalls and was both a popular and well-liked man making hanging baskets for people. He came prepared and brought a bag knowing he is going into custody.”

Both men were handed lifetime sexual harm prevention orders and were placed on the sex offender register for life.

Description

A SEX offender told an undercover police officer, posing on a dating app, that he was a ‘genuine paedophile’.

Leonard Vandervail confessed his sexual interest in children on a dating app and bragged that the youngest he had abused was four years old.

The 43-year-old thought he was messaging a woman, aged 22, with three children on the app but was speaking to an undercover police officer.

Prosecutor Rod Blain told Bournemouth Crown Court on March 7 that Vandervail told the woman he was looking for a little girl.

After saying she had three children, the undercover police officer asked the defendant if he wanted to meet them, and he said yes.

They began messaging on another messaging platform where the defendant ‘wasted no time’ in asking how old the children were.

She told Vandervail that her two ‘daughters’ and ‘son’ were aged 10, two and seven.

The defendant then admitted his sexual interest in their ages, saying the youngest he had abused was four years old.

He said that this happened regularly and ‘assured’ her that he was a ‘genuine paedophile’.

When asked if anything was off limits, he said he would do anything.

After confessing further details of ‘activities’, Vandervail and the woman arranged to meet her ‘children’.

The defendant said he was from Bournemouth and sent a picture of himself, which police were able to use to identify him.

Dorset Police then confirmed that Vandervail was already a known sex offender and had previously been given a sexual harm prevention order.

Mitigating, Nick Robinson said that the harm made was to a fictitious child and that according to the defendant, the comments made were fantasy whilst under the influence of drink and cannabis.

Mr Robinson said that Vandervail completed the sex offender programme eight months ago and ‘did very well’, but has regressed to previous behaviour.

He added that the defendant is sorry and is keen to engage with probation to reduce the risk of this happening again.

Vandervail, of Wootton Mount in Bournemouth, was charged with three counts of making indecent photograph/ pseudo-photograph of a child and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

His Honour Judge Robert Pawson said the defendant has a ‘very troubling’ history that is rooted in sexual attraction to children which goes back over 10 years.

Vandervail was sentenced to three years in prison, given a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely and put on the sex offender register for life.

Description

A 58-year-old who indecently exposed himself in front of children playing in woods has been jailed.

On Saturday (March 9), Alan Mercer asked girls to stand guard while he went to urinate.

Having then told the victims he had finished, they turned around to find Mercer with his trousers around his ankles in the area close to Lockeyer Park in Burnley.

Following CCTV enquiries, police arrested Mercer a day later.

He was charged with exposure on Monday this week and appeared at Blackburn Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Mercer, formerly of Astley Street, Dukinfield, was jailed for 26 weeks and was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for seven years.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: “We do not tolerate behaviour of this nature and we will do everything in our power to identify the offender and put them before the courts.”

Description

A rape victim has spoken of her ordeal at the hands of a serial sex abuser who used his supposed MI5connections to threaten her and try to scare her into silence.

Hotel manager Rory Macaleece carried out a five-year campaign of violent and degrading abuse, including raping two women and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

The 48-year-old thug, who was prone to aggressive outbursts, is now behind bars after the women eventually reported him to police.

Macaleece will be sentenced on Wednesday after he was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow last month of eight charges including rape, stalking, domestic abuse and sexual assault against four victims, who can't be named for legal reasons.

One of his ex-partners has told The Mail on Sunday about the attacks the 'controlling bully' subjected her to, in the hope others targeted by him will come forward.

She said: 'I know he's behind bars for now and he can't do all the things he promised to do if I reported him.

'He told me his dad was part of MI5 and he has friends in the Government who were dangerous. He threatened that if I told anybody about what he did [to me], I wouldn't live. He had already demonstrated he had no problem hurting me.

'But I've already had a message from someone saying Rory sexually assaulted them in 2006. I've no doubt there are more women out there that he's done this to. I'm speaking out so others might feel safe enough to come forward.'

The woman met Macaleece, who worked for a hotel chain, in 2018. She said: 'It wasn't long before his mask slipped and his controlling and aggressive nature was exposed.'

He once punched her to the ground, while he also controlled her diet, repeatedly called her 'fat' and told her what to wear. During the harrowing interview, the young mum recalled how he raped her after she had asked him to leave her alone.

After the couple had split, she confronted him. She recalled: 'I said to him, 'You raped me'. He said, 'Yes I did. I was upset because you were pushing me away'.'

She later reported him to the police. 'He lied to me about other partners,' she added. 'He even told me he had cancer and was dying. He is a manipulator and a liar.'

Description

A Stirling dad was caught with hundreds of sickening child abuse photos and videos, a court has heard.

Police raided Steven Anderson’s home after receiving a tip-off illicit files were being downloaded to his computer.

Description

Malachi Smith, of Humbrills Close, in Huntingdon, was found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl at an address in the city in late 2009. Smith was in his late teens at the time of the offence.

After pleading not guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court on Tuesday 29 August 2023, Smith appeared again at the court on Wednesday 6 March, where a jury found him unanimously guilty. He was then sentenced immediately to six and a half years imprisonment and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

The judge stated that whilst he took into account Smith’s age at the time of the offence when considering the sentencing, it also reflected the “severe psychological harm” he had inflicted on the victim, which had affected her “for 14 years, formal diagnosis, medicated everyday numbing her feelings, flashbacks and nightmares”.

DS Samantha Brown said: “The victim in this case, now a grown woman, has lived with the memory of this awful assault for over a decade. I’m pleased we can give her the outcome the case deserved and finally some closure. I’d like to commend her bravery for coming forward and I hope this case encourages others to speak out and seek support.

Description

A sex offender from Whitstable has been jailed after admitting to a series of online offences.

Detectives from Kent Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) led an investigation in which charges were brought against James Clark, of Victoria Street, who carried out his crimes between December 2020 and January 2024.

Multiple crimes

Clark was charged with multiple offences, including nine counts of attempting sexual communication with a child; three counts of attempting to make a child watch a sexual act; three counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity; three counts of publishing an obscene article and making and distributing indecent images of children.

Sentenced

After pleading guilty, Clark, 26, was sentenced to five and a half years’ imprisonment at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday 8 March.

He was also made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.