Description
A "dangerous" and "manipulative" convicted sex offender brazenly targeted an impressionable 11-year-old girl for highly sexualised messages on Snapchat – just a few weeks after he had been released from prison.
Sexual "predator" Steven Bennett took advantage of the girl's naive belief that he could be trusted as a friend and his seedy behaviour cynically "stole her innocence".
He callously preyed upon the vulnerable girl and caused her horrified mother to endure a "nightmare" ordeal after she discovered, only by pure chance, what had been secretly going on, Hull Crown Court heard.
Bennett, 42, who had been living in a Hull bail hostel before later being remanded in custody, admitted engaging in sexual communication with a child between November 21 and 28, 2022, causing a child to engage in sexual activity and three offences of breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
Patrick Palmer, prosecuting, said that Bennett was released from prison on October 31, 2022 after serving a previous six-year sentence for sexual offences and he went to live in a bail hostel in Queens Road, Hull.
But on December 10 of that year, police were alerted that Bennett had been sending sexualised messages to an 11-year-old girl on Snapchat. The girl's mother had been keeping tabs on her daughter's messages.
She became concerned about messages that she saw, involving her daughter, that had been sent from a man at the location address of the bail hostel. "It was, of course, this defendant," said Mr Palmer.
Bennett had tried to get the girl to tell her friends to "add him" on Snapchat. The mother took screenshots of the messages before they disappeared. The girl had sent an intimate video of herself to him.
Bennett was arrested at the hostel on December 11, 2022. He denied any contact with the girl and claimed that he had no recollection of any chat with her.
"He claimed that he had no sexual interest in children and he denied that he was guilty of those matters on his record," said Mr Palmer.
The girl's mother said that she believed that Bennett was a "predator" who had quickly identified her daughter's insecurities and had taken advantage of her. She felt "utter disgust, panic and regret" and she believed that Bennett's contact with the girl "stole her innocence" through the messages.
"This would not have happened if this disgusting paedophile had not been released from prison early," she said. She would not want the "nightmare" that they had endured for 18 months to happen to anyone else and she wanted to thank the police involved in the case.
Oliver Shipley, mitigating, said: "Sadly, there is nothing positive that can be said on this defendant's behalf. It's inevitably a significant custodial sentence.
"Risk reduction work is necessary and he knows that only he can do that in the long term. The circumstances make for difficult reading. He has had the good will to plead guilty at the first opportunity."
Bennett had previously been branded a dangerous offender and, after his release from prison, there had been further offending. He had limited previous convictions but they were "highly relevant and deeply concerning" because of their nature.
"There is clearly work that needs to be done for rehabilitation," said Mr Shipley.
Recorder David Kelly said that Bennett used Snapchat to communicate with the girl. "Fortunately, her mother became aware of it," said Recorder Kelly. "She was able to screenshot some of your conversation before they disappeared and was able to identify both you and the place where you were located.
"It turned out that you were a registered sex offender who, at the time, was living at the Queens Road bail hostel. Your victim had sent you photographs and videos.
"She naively thought that you were a friend who she could trust. You were extremely manipulative in your behaviour. You also tried to get her to get her friends to join in these conversations.
"You had been released from that previous sentence only three or four weeks before you were committing these offences and you were on licence. The prison sentence from which you had been so recently released was for very similar offences."
Bennett had also been jailed for two years in July 2006 for sexually assaulting a girl under 13. He had been released from prison after the six-year sentence on October 31, 2022.
"Here you were, while in the bail hostel, almost immediately doing it again," said Recorder Kelly. "I am satisfied that you are dangerous. You pose a significant risk of committing further offences."
Bennett was jailed for four years and eight months. He will be on extended licence of three years after his release. The indefinite sexual harm prevention order will continue.