Record details
A FORMER supermarket worker was arrested outside a Carlisle hotel as he attempted to meet a person he believed was a 14-year-old boy he had been having sexualised online conversations with.
Business graduate John Robert Reynolds, 43, suffered what a judge said was a 'spectacular fall from grace' after the encounter.
The defendant pleaded guilty to an allegation of attempting to communicate sexually with a child after an alternative charge, that he tried to arrange the commission of a child sex offence, was abandoned by the prosecution.
Brendan Burke, prosecuting at Carlisle Crown Court, said the defendant came to Carlisle on July 27 last year and was staying at the Halston Hotel in Warwick Road for reasons related to his then employment.
At the time, he had activated a Grindr profile for himself, through which he initiated contact with somebody who cleared identified himself as a 14-year-old boy. The defendants response to that was to state simply: Thats young.
The defendant sent [the boy] an intimate picture of himself early in the conversation, said Mr Burke. But Reynolds was unwittingly communicating with an undercover police officer.
The conversation had quickly become sexualised, said Mr Burke. The defendant said he was looking for fun with a guy.
"He went on to ask [the boy] to send pics; that request was made and remade again throughout their conversation.
The undercover officer told Reynolds he liked boys but had not actually done anything. The defendant asked the boy what he wanted to try. Encouraged by the defendant, they arranged to meet in Carlisle city centre.
When the boy asked the defendant what he wanted to do, he replied: Whatever you want; well see what happens. Reynolds also asked the boy if he wanted to go to the hotel where he was staying, saying it was nice.
They agreed to meet outside the Hallmark Hotel near Carlisle railway station, and that was where police arrested Reynolds at 8.40pm.
When challenged, the defendant said he believed the person he was communicating with was actually 18, given that this was the minimum age for anybody using Grindr.
Jacob Dyer, defending, said there was no actual child involved but Reynolds accepted he should not have engaged in such communication. This offence followed the breakdown of his marriage, said the barrister.
It was a period of upheaval for him, a very emotional time. He had left his job, he was struggling to cope, struggling to sleep. He was using alcohol and sleeping tablets in order to cope and he also started using dating apps.
He wasnt in a good place emotionally.
A man of good previous character, Reynolds was a business management graduate and had worked for many years at the Booths supermarket. Mr Dyer added: He is very much ashamed of his conduct.
Being arrested and spending six days remanded in custody had a profound impact on Reynolds, who as a consequence had a breakdown and spent four weeks in hospital. But he had now stopped drinking and was taking antidepressant medication.
Reynolds had clearly expressed remorse and would respond to rehabilitation.
Judge Guy Mathieson told Reynolds: You have no previous convictions, and a good work history. What a spectacular fall from grace to have you stood before this court today.
The judge accepted that Reynolds was suffering a significant emotional crisis and that a combination of factors led to his offending. But I reject entirely that you ever misunderstood the nature of these conversations with this person, said the judge.
You could not have missed the fact that this person was telling you that they were under age.
Yet there had been a persistent attempt to communicate sexually. Theres absolutely no doubt that you went out to meet what you thought would be an under age boy outside Carlisle railway station.
The judge described that behaviour as 'horrendous'. Accepting that the defendant learned a lesson from his brief time in custody, Judge Mathieson said Reynolds should understand how close he had come to custody.
He imposed 12 months jail, suspended for two years, ordering that the defendant must complete an accredited treatment programme.
Reynolds, of St Winifreds Park, Halton, Lancashire, will be on the Sex Offender Register for a decade and subject to a five year sexual harm prevention order.
He must also complete 20 rehabilitation activity days.
