Geoffrey Restrick 76

Description

A PERVERTED west Cumbrian pensioner tried to meet up with a 14-year-old boy so he could sexually abuse him.

But unbeknown to 75-year-old Whitehaven man Geoffrey Restrick, the “child” was an under-cover police officer.

The pensioner admitted attempting to sexually communicate with a child and arranging to meet him so he could commit a child sex offence. At Carlisle Crown Court, prosecutor Kim Whittlestone outlined the facts of the defendant’s offending.  

The attempted sexual communication happened online over a ten-day period, between June 19 and 29, the court heard. It involved Restrick exchanging messages with a person who identified himself as a 14-year-old boy.

“There were numerous discussions about meeting up and about the sexual acts they would engage in,” said Miss Whittlestone. The communication initially happened on the Grindr social networking site.

Restrick was using the online name “Discreet Fun.”

But at the defendant’s suggestion, the conversations were quickly transferred to a private WhatsApp platform. The barrister said: “The conversation therefore continued about and there were discussions about sexual acts.”

Restrick also asked the “boy” for sexually explicit pictures.

Miss Whittlestone continued: “The defendant was repeatedly told during the conversations that the male was 14. He asked for a photograph of the young boy. A photograph was sent on one occasion.

 “The image indicated a 14-year-old boy and the defendant’s response was to say: ‘You are very attractive.’” Restrick then asked for photos of the boy in his school uniform. At one stage, the court heard, the pensioner arranged to meet the boy in a named local store, which Restrick attended.

But he kept his distance, watching to see if the boy turned up. “He repeatedly made requests to meet,” said Miss Whittlestone, adding that this was accompanied by conversation about the sexual things they would do.

Andrew Gurney, defending, told Judge Nicholas Barker: “This [defendant] is a man of previous good character and he wants the court to know that he is truly appalled by his actions and he is remorseful.”

Restrick,  of Calder Avenue, Whitehaven, was also concerned about the impact of what he had done on his family. Mr Gurney added: “He’s effectively lost everything due to his actions and he deserves what’s going to happen to him today.”

Judge Nicholas Barker told the pensioner: “You came into contact with what you genuinely believed was a 14-year-old male child.” 

The judge dismissed a claim that Restrick made with probation staff that he was not sexually interested in the child, saying that his sexual discussions and attempt to meet the “child” were not fanciful.

He had acted on his plan to meet the boy and his intention was to “engage in sexual activity”, said the judge.

Judge Barker said the defendant’s claim to not be attracted sexually to children roused suspicion in the probation officer’s mind and in his mind, given that Restrick had described the sexual acts he wanted to perform on the “boy.”

Accepting that the defendant was remorseful, and that had faced difficult challenges in his life, the judge jailed Restrick for 29 months. The pensioner will be on the Sex Offender Register for a decade.

He will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period. He is likely to be released on licence at the half way point in his sentence.