Steven Ogilvie 56

Description

A sex offender caught out trying to sexually groom a 13-year-old girl over the internet was slammed by a judge for reusing to admit he was attracted to children. Steven Ogilvie struck up a conversation with a young profile on the Chat Avenue site and talked about being naked in the shower as well as going to a nudist beach.

But in fact he was talking to an undercover police officer. The 55-year-old, from Chester Road North, Sutton Coldfield, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child but was spared a prison sentence, partly because it happened in 2018 and he had not repeated the behaviour since. At Birmingham Crown Court he was sentenced to a three-year community order.

Ogilvie had told probation officers he was not attracted to children and had not intended to speak to a child. But Judge Richard Bond told him: "I totally reject what you say, of course you are attracted to children what else were you doing?

"Adults mainly go onto such websites for one reason alone; to attain some form of sexual satisfaction talking to underage children. You probably can't even admit to yourself you are attracted to children but when you hear the circumstances of this case you clearly are."

Ogilvie had started talking to the decoy profile on January 9, 2018. Oliver Wellings, prosecuting, said of the Chat Avenue website: "It is a chat facility for teenagers looking for online conversations. It is not just the target audience but also predatory paedophiles who congregate on such sites."

Ogilvie began asking the 'girl' about her background before he switched the topic to dating and 'phone sex'. He made jokes about being old enough to be her father before suggesting they should shower naked together and go to a nudist beach.

Mr Wellings added: "It would appear at that point, by this stage it had been going on for some days, the defendant got cold feet and became concerned. He began asking her for photos trying to establish whether she was real."

He told the court Ogilvie had previously been caught out by so-called paedophile-hunters for almost identical behaviour before the offence was created in law. Ben Close, defending, emphasised the latest offence spanned three days and happened five years ago. He said: "It is encouraging to see in the pre-sentence report he has remained faithful to his plea.

"He describes a challenging time in his life involving a separation, loneliness, mental health difficulties. The picture painted is an all-too-familiar one of someone who spent too much time at home on their computer seeking an outlet and falling back into abusing the internet in the way he did."

Ogilvie must be assed for a sexual offenders' treatment programme, complete 60 days of rehabilitation activity and adhere to police notification requirements for five years. Judge Bond told him: "It is you who turns the conversation away from innocuous matters. It becomes highly sexualised at your instigation.

"When you say you are not attracted to children, why are you talking about being in the shower with a 13-year-old girl? That's because that's what you wanted in your dreams."