Russell Roberts 64

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A 64-year-old man who thought he was inciting a young girl to carry out sexual activity - less than a year after his release from prison for a rape charge - has been has been put back behind bars.

Plymouth man Russell Roberts, appeared at Plymouth Crown Court via video link from HMP The Verne in Dorset after he pleaded guilty to the single count of attempting to incite a child under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity.

Prosecutor Michael Brown told the court how Roberts initially pleaded not guilty to a number of charges relating to incidents which took place between March 9, 2022 and March 23, 2022, but in late June this year he pleaded guilty to the single charge of inciting a girl under 16 - which included him urging her to penetrate herself with an object.

Mr Brown explained that a further charge of possession of extreme pornographic material would lie on file, as would a charge of attempted sexual communication.

The court heard Roberts was arrested by police thanks to action taken by "paedophile hunters" who set up a decoy Facebook account in the name of "Lola". The decoy claimed she was 13-years-old and Roberts made contact with her in March 2022. 'Lola' told police that Roberts was "very eager" to chat with her and was "persistent" with his messages.

The court heard it was "plain that Roberts knew she was 13" not least because the decoy told him her age and that she was still at school, and referred to "mealtimes and bedtimes".

The conversation "quickly turned sexual" and he told her he was looking for a relationship, asked her if she ever masturbated or had sex and told her to keep their conversations "secret from her mother".

He referred to 'Lola' as "baby or baby girl" and he pestered her to call him and talk dirty to him about sex. He asked her if she wore knickers at bedtime before then encouraging her to engage in sexual activity. He also urged her to buy a vibrator.

After asking her if she had ever seen a man's privates, he then sent her a picture of his penis. He then asked if she would have sex with him which culminated in a conversation about the two of them meeting.

Mr Brown said the decoy from the paedophile hunters' group then created an adult decoy on March 21 and Roberts began to exchange messages with that profile. Again, the conversation quickly turned sexual and a meeting was arranged to take place March 23, 2022 in Yealmpton.

The court heard how the "hunter group" confronted Roberts, police were called and the evidence was handed over. During police interview he replied "no comment".

Mr Brown said Roberts had 15 convictions for 20 offences - including a count of rape from 2005 for which he received a sentence of imprisonment for public protection in 2006.

This means the offender must serve a minimum period in custody set by the court, known as a 'tariff', before they can become eligible for parole. Once the offender has served their tariff, they remain in custody until the Parole Board decides they are no longer a risk to the public.

However, Roberts was released on April 1, 2021 and recalled back to prison on March 23, 2022 following his arrest.

In mitigation, his advocate Herc Ashworth told the court the previous offences did not relate to children and that Roberts had said he was sorry for his behaviour.

Mr Ashworth told the court the offence had effectively taken place two years and four months ago, but the first hearing did not take place until February this year. He added that while in prison, Roberts had no visitors, his family had all passed away and he was living a "lonely life", along with the difficulties of residing in the "overcrowded" prison estate.

Judge David Evans noted that "if this had been a real-life 13-year-old girl this exchange may have been a very nasty end - and very prematurely so - to an age of innocence".

He noted Roberts' previous conviction for a rape in 2005, which involved an adult. He accepted Roberts was "genuinely ashamed" and there had been no sexual offending since that date and 2022, but added he also noted his imprisonment for public protection, adding that it would be "for the foreseeable future".

Judge Evans questioned the delay between the arrest, charge and court appearance, describing it as "inexplicable and inexcusable", and the fact that the prisons were "very congested" meant there was very little "positive work" going on inside prisons at the moment.

Taking into account the mitigating and aggravating factors he passed a sentence of 24 months, explaining that he would serve half but it would be for the parole board to determine whether he should be released or not, due to the terms of the 2006 sentence.

He also passed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order to deal with the risk of reoffending and community harm Roberts presented.

In October 2006 the Plymouth Herald reported on the sentencing of Roberts, describing how he was a doorman who "used his brawn to overpower two women". The report stated that Roberts, then of Headland Park, North Hill, was convicted by a jury at Plymouth Crown Court of twice raping a woman in his bedsit in May 2005.

He was also found guilty of attempting to rape a prostitute, who escaped after she sprayed him in the face with CS Spray, in August 2005. At the time in 2006, Mr Vere-Hodge jailed Roberts for 12 years, with the order of him serving a minimum of six years. He also placed Roberts on the sex offenders register for life.