Description
A "dangerous sexual predator" has been jailed after undercover police officers lured him into thinking he was meeting a teenage girl for sex at Guildford Cathedral.
Mark Crampton, 57, of Richmond-upon-Thames, has been sentenced to 44 months in prison after pleading guilty to arranging to meet who he thought was a child for sex.
He had pleaded guilty to arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence; attempting to meet a girl under 16 years of age following grooming; and two counts of an adult attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child at an earlier hearing.
Crampton was arrested after communicating with two undercover police officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit between April 18 and May 21, 2020.
On April 18, Crampton sent a private message to one of the officers, who he believed was a 13-year-old girl. Communication continued, with him sending sexually explicit messages using Kik Messenger.
This led to his arrest on May 21 in the grounds of Guildford Cathedral, where he had travelled with the intention of carrying out sexual acts with who he thought was the child.
It later transpired that Crampton had travelled to Guildford Cathedral the previous day to establish where he could engage in the sexual activity, Surrey Police said.
Crampton was subsequently arrested by two officers from Surrey Police on suspicion of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.
During the sentencing hearing at Guildford Crown Court on Friday, March 5, Crampton was additionally handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
Detective Constable Steve Branch, who investigated the incident, said: "The sentence and the indefinite SHPO given to Crampton reflect the serious nature of his offending and have meant that a dangerous sexual predator will now be behind bars and will not be able to pose a threat to vulnerable teenagers.
"Crampton communicated with who he thought was a teenage girl for several weeks and these messages were extremely sexual in nature, culminating in him arranging to meet her for sex.
"This case demonstrates our commitment to targeting sex offenders within our communities and ensuring they are held to account for their reprehensible behaviour."
Detective Inspector Lisa Heaton, from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: "The arrest of Crampton was part of a proactive, intelligence-led investigation relating to child sexual offences. It forms part of our continued priority to protect children from sexual exploitation and from those who would see do them harm.
"If anyone has been the victim of child sexual abuse, I would encourage them to report it to their local police force via 101. We will always follow up allegations and law enforcement work together to bring to justice individuals who use the internet to facilitate the abuse of children.
"Victims can talk in confidence to experienced investigators and we will also help them get access to a range of support services."