Neil Tranmer, Kerry Burdall 35,39

Description

A couple who believed they were meeting a naive 14-year-old girl for sex at a railway station were caught out when they were instead confronted by paedophile hunters.

Neil Tranmer and his then girlfriend Kerry Burdall, who had hoped to engage in unprotected sex sessions with the young girl and even wanted her to fall pregnant, were met instead by seven members of an online paedophile hunters group, Hull Crown Court heard.

The 'teenage girl' they had connected with on Facebook did not exist, but the couple were unaware of this and fully intended to "follow it through" after making a "deliberate decision" to meet and take advantage of her sexually, reports Hull Live.

Tranmer, 35, formerly of Clarence Road, Bridlington, but recently living in Hornsea, and Burdall, 39, of Limedane, Orchard Park estate, Hull, both admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child in Bridlington between April 13 and 19, 2021.

Harry Bradford, prosecuting, said that an online protection group set up profiles of fake girls aged between 10 and 14 in a bid to catch online sexual offenders.

A fake 14 year old girl received a friend request on Facebook from Burdall and was asked, "Hi. How old are you? " The decoy character responded: "I'm 14. How old are you? " To which Burdall replied, revealing herself to be "36" accompanying her message with a photograph and sentence stating: "That's my boyfriend."

She followed with another message, questioning: "Do you want to share him? He be your boyfriend too."

When probed by the decoy about how they could share him, Burdall responded boldly: "Have sex with him."

The decoy accountholder then posted: "I am a virgin. Can I have sex at 14? " Burdall gave her approval assuring: "Yes. Would you want him to use a condom? " She told the girl they resided in Bridlington, suggesting she could tell her mother that she was visiting a friend.

The decoy girl asked if she could get pregnant and Burdall replied: "Yes." The girl asked: "Are you ok with your boyfriend having sex with me?" Burdall replied "Yes" and, when the girl asked what his name was, she replied: "Neil. You can add him on Facebook if you want to."

Further interaction ensued between the decoy and Tranmer following a friend request sent to her. Upon asking Tranmer: "Are you Kerry's boyfriend? " He confirmed: "Yes. Do you want me as your boyfriend? ".

After the decoy's prompt: "Did Kerry tell you I am 14? I have never had a boyfriend before." Messages were exchanged at the same time between Tranmer and Burdall.

The girl asked Tranmer: "Do you want me to get pregnant?" He replied: "Yes." Tranmer asked her if she wanted to see explicit pictures of him and he sent two photographs. He asked her if he could see intimate pictures of her and he asked her what colour her underwear was.

He asked explicit sexual questions. Arrangements were made for the girl to meet Tranmer and Burdall at Bridlington railway station at 1.10pm.

Tranmer and Burdall continued to send messages about sexual activity. Seven members of the paedophile hunters group went to Bridlington railway station and saw Tranmer and Burdall.

They were confronted during a live streaming encounter and the police were alerted. Burdall said: "I should not have done it. I feel guilty for what I have done."

Tranmer claimed during police interview that Burdall had made him go to the railway station to meet a 14-year-old. He claimed that he did not mean to send the decoy girl messages about sex and that they were meant for Burdall and not the girl.

Burdall denied sending any of the messages apart from giving her age and claimed that her account had been hacked and that she did not send any pictures. They both had no previous convictions.

Michele Stuart-Lofthouse, mitigating, said that Tranmer pleaded guilty. He had suffered a difficult upbringing and had problems.

Dale Brook, representing Burdall, said that she had, at the time, moved in with Tranmer and thought that the relationship was a "mutually loving" one but the nature of the offences had made her look again at it.

She thought that Tranmer wanted another girlfriend. "It may seem a naive and tall story," said Mr Brook. "Since this offending, she has settled down. She is in a relationship with a new fiancé. They have accommodation together. There has been no further offending.

"These offences were not actually carried out because it was a decoy. There is no actual victim."

Judge Richard Woolfall said: "They did actually go to the railway station to meet this child. Their intention was to follow it through. The pair of you thought at the time that it was a real child."

They arranged to have unprotected sex with the girl and this could have led to pregnancy. "She was a decoy but the pair of you believed that it was a real 14-year-old girl," said Judge Woolfall. "She said that she was a virgin but that didn't put you off."

Judge Woolfall told Burdall: "There was talk about not wearing a condom and that your boyfriend would want her to get pregnant and that, if that happened, she was to tell her mother that it was a mate's brother.

"All she had to tell her mum was that she was going to see a mate. You sent her pictures. The pair of you were texting her at this point about having sex with her. You sent photos and told her not to tell anyone or show them to anyone.

"You told her that she must not report him to the police. You arranged to meet the next day at the Bridlington train station. There was talk about what sexual positions she would want.

"The next day, you travelled and went to the train station, expecting to meet her, but you were apprehended by the group of people who had effectively set all this up and the police were called.

"This was a deliberate decision made by the pair of you. The harm is less because no actual victim existed. It still makes it a serious offence, however.

"You did both go to the railway station with the intention of meeting this child and it was obvious what was intended because you so graphically described it in those texts.

"She was encouraged and told not to report the behaviour. Pregnancy was a possibility. You each preyed on a vulnerable member of society, a child who you believed was a genuine child.

"Both of you attended at the train station expecting her to attend so that physical acts could take place."

Tranmer was jailed for two-and-a-half years and Burdall was locked up for two years and three months. They were each given an eight-year sexual harm prevention order.

Tranmer must register as a sex offender for life and Burdall must notify her details to the police for 10 years.