Lawrence Simms 57

Description

This was the moment a pervert was confronted by paedophile hunters after travelling 250 miles to Stoke-on-Trent to stay the night in a hotel with a '14-year-old girl'.

The shocking footage was captured outside the Potteries Centre by The Unknown before being passed to police to ensure Lawrence Simms was brought to justice.

It shows the 54-year-old loner wearing a cap and a backpack as he's challenged outside H Samuel jewellers in Hanley by the exposers who quiz him about his online sex chats with the underage teen.

Bearded and bespectacled Simms had believed he was communicating with a schoolgirl when he arranged to travel half way across the country from his home in Plymouth to the Potteries to meet her.

In fact, the 'girl was a decoy who agreed to meet Simms near the blue clock - where he was later arrested.

The 27-minute clip - which was live-streamed on Facebook - starts with the hunters arriving at the scene on March 21, 2020 and confronting Simms.

Initially, the defendant is defiant as the stream starts.

A male hunter explains that he is to be arrested for the online grooming and trying to meet a child.

One of the group quizzes Simms - who has no previous convictions - about his 'intentions' after booking the hotel room.

He replies: "I booked the room for me, for one person. Me."

At points a member of the public can be heard repeatedly shouting: "Dirty b*****."

Another hunter - a woman - adds: "This is what happens unfortunately when you mess around with children online. Do you understand?

"You asked her to take pictures in her swimwear. Why would you want to do that? It's not a mistake, is it? You've been grooming her now for quite a while haven't you? For about a month I believe.

"Can you do me a favour? Stop talking to our children. Men like you make me sick.

"What's with you calling her cutie all the time? It's not your place to call her cutie, is it?

"You asked what she was wearing underneath her pyjamas.

"You have turned up today to meet this child. You have turned up here thinking that you were going to spend the night with this 14-year-old child.

"You are a disgusting scumbag. You have got yourself in a lot of trouble. People don't like people like you."

Simms repeatedly says he can't remember how many children he's been speaking to.

And when asked if he finds children sexually attractive, he replied 'not really'.

He then gets increasingly irate, adding: "If I was going to take her back, why would I book a room for one person. That one person being me."

After being accused of being a liar, he adds: "Have you ever heard of change your mind? I was always having doubts.

"I've got nowhere near the hotel room, I don't even know where the hotel is."

But the male exposer responds: "You travelled seven hours on a coach. You could have got off when the coach changed. That was the last chance to change your mind.

"You're here now to meet her where you arranged to.

"You're claiming that it was just some big innocent thing you were going to walk away from when you travelled seven hours across the country. You booked two or three weeks ago.

"This isn't something that has happened this morning and now you're going to change your mind this afternoon. When were you going to change your mind?"

After nearly half an hour, two officers from Staffordshire Police arrive on the scene and Simms is led away and put in a patrol car as the footage comes to an end.

A crowd that has gathered can be heard clapping amid jeers of 'dirty'.

Simms, of Keyham Road, Plymouth, pleaded guilty to one charge of attempting to engage a child in sexual communication and a second offence of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

He was sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for two years for the attempting to engage a child in sexual conversation offence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Paul Cliff, mitigating, said: "He was already an isolated individual who lives alone in a one-bedroom flat.

"It has caused problems with his family. I would not go so far as to say they have rejected him, but it's not difficult to imagine the hurt, upset and resentment that they will feel.

"It's been a difficult 14 or 15 months for him."

Simms was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for 10 years, and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.