Locations
Holyrood Court, Basingstoke, RG22 5DT
Description
A BASINGSTOKE man who was snared by paedophile hunters after he encouraged teenagers to engage in sexual activity has been jailed for over five years.
Kasey Rolfe, 40, of Holyrood Court, contacted what he believed to be three teenage girls on Facebook Messenger and rapidly moved the conversation towards a sexual manner.
On August 14 this year he messaged a 13-year-old girl from Liverpool and asked her questions, before asking for an indecent image of her. On the same day he also spoke to another girl, 14, from Cardiff.
Speaking at Winchester Crown Court today (Monday), prosecutor Jane Terry said: “He began speaking to her the following day telling her that she is stunning and wished that she was older so he could take her out.”
Rolfe promised the girl that he would take her out when she was 16. He then tried to call her but was instead sent a picture of her posing – he replied with a photograph.
The court was told that Rolfe also messaged another 14-year-old girl from Romford on August 3, he did not receive a response until August 15.
On each occasion Rolfe was not actually talking to a child as the account was being operated by a paedophile hunter or an child online protection group.
On August 18 an arrangement was made for Rolfe to meet up with a woman in Basingstoke for a “sexual encounter” with the adult but was in fact met by some of the teams.
He was detained, both the team and Rolfe called the police, he said he was “being pinned against the wall” and denied having any contact with underage girls. The whole encounter was live-streamed on the internet.
Rolfe previously pleaded guilty to cause a child to watch/look at an image of sexual activity, three counts of attempt to engage in sexual communication with a child, and a further three charges of attempting to cause/incite a girl to engage in sexual activity.
In mitigation, Gemma White said: “He was detained for over an hour in an intimidating and aggressive way by a group of individuals that in my submission were acting outside of the law.”
She added that the fact that it was live-streamed “has had a significant impact not just Mr Rolfe but on other people including his children”.
The court was told that Rolfe has a history of substance misuse but since being in custody has been on a detox.
In sentencing, Mr Recorder D Tait said: “These engagements were clearly sexual and involved various sexual suggestions to people that you thought were under 16 years of age.”
The judge added “there is no doubt you were seeking sexual contact towards girls under the age of 16”.
Rolfe was jailed for five years and four months, he will also be subjected to notification requirements for life.