Description
A sick paedophile who preyed on a teenager with learning difficulties and convinced her to have sex with him was caught after the youngster revealed all to her mum. Pervert Sam Collier persuaded the 'vulnerable' 14-year-old to skip going home after school and instead spend time with him at the Birmingham hostel where he lived.
Her worried mother raised the alarm when she failed to return home, with police discovering her in Collier's flat the next day. But the youngster only revealed she had been with the 28-year-old after her concerned mum spotted 'marks'.
It came just weeks after Collier was arrested when paedophile hunters duped him into thinking he was meeting up with a different schoolgirl for sex. Now vile predator Collier has been locked up after a judge branded him a 'dangerous offender'.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how a member of a so-called paedophile hunting group was 'clearly' posing online as a 14-year-old. The schoolgirl 'repeated' her age throughout conversations with him on Facebook Messenger from December 27, 2018, and January 3, 2019.
Prosecutor Ben Williams said: "The messages were turned into a sexual direction by the defendant, really from the outset. He also lied about his age, insisting he was only 15. The messages involved the defendant quickly beginning to press her to send him intimate pictures. She did nothing to encourage the defendant's messages."
Collier sent her explicit pictures before planning to meet in Kings Heath for sex, where he was met by members of the paedophile hunting group.
The paedophile was arrested but was released on bail and started speaking to a real girl on Facebook. Their conversations moved to texts and WhatsApp, with the girl making it clear she was 14. She was 'extremely vulnerable', with a reading age of eight, and needed extra help at school, Mr Williams said.
The young victim also had a history of self-harm, which she referred to in her conversations with Collier. Mr Williams added: "The defendant must have known she had mental health issues and [was] vulnerable."
The pair arranged to meet in Wolverhampton about a fortnight later but the child's mother stopped her from leaving the house. Three days later she failed to come back home from school, with her mum identifying Collier from messages on her tablet.
Police then discovered the girl at Collier's flat - which was within a Handsworth hostel - the next morning. Her mum spotted 'marks' on her neck and body, with the girl revealing she was taken to Collier's home.
Mr Williams said: "It was the defendant who arranged to meet her after school with the specific reason given that her mother would not be there." Callum Church, defending, said Collier has had a 'chaotic existence' since childhood and does not speak to any of his family members.
He understands he 'needs a new life', Mr Church added. The court was told how Collier had previous convictions dating back to when he was a youth, including burglary, battery and breach of a court order.
Sentencing, Judge Rhona Campbell said the convict was 'desperate' for his conversations with the real girl to become 'sexual'. She added: "She was an extremely vulnerable girl. Her mental health was of such fragility that she had been accessing the children and adolescent mental health services."
Collier admitted arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and committing an offence with the intention of committing a relevant sexual offence. The judge said he was 'dangerous' and handed him an extended sentence of 13 years on October 13.
It means he must serve at least two-thirds of his 10-year jail term and will be subject to an extended licence period of three years once released. Collier, from Bolton, Lancashire, was also made subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and must remain on the sex offenders register for life.