Locations
Osborne Road, Doncaster, DN2
Description
A Doncaster man who bragged about how “easy” it was to groom children online has been jailed after a police swoop.
An investigation by South Yorkshire Police’s specialist Internet Sexual Offences Team (ISOT) has seen sick Mark Foster jailed for over seven years.
Foster, 44, of Osborne Road, was arrested after officers executed two warrants at his home address leading to the seizure of his devices.
These devices were then submitted for forensic analysis, leading to the discovery of hundreds of illegal images of children and messages showing him talking to underage children on the internet.
In one online exchange, Foster was caught talking about how he thought he had been able to keep his crimes a secret and spoke of how easy it was to groom children online.
Detective Constable Sam Brown, who was the officer in charge of this case, said: "Internet sex offenders like Foster largely operate in their shadows.
"They think they are untouchable but what they don't know is ISOT are working quietly in the background and under the radar to build cases against these criminals and bring them to justice.
"The officers who work within ISOT are highly skilled at their job and they are committed to protecting children from depraved online predators like Foster."
Foster pleaded guilty to multiple offences, including causing or inciting a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, distributing an indecent photograph of a child and six counts of making an indecent photograph of a child.
He was jailed for four years and two months, with a three-year extended sentence due to the nature of the offence, at Sheffield Crown Court last Monday (15 July).
DC Brown said: "We are pleased an extended sentence has been served to Foster which reflects the severity of his offending and the efforts of ISOT to pull together the evidence needed which meant he had no choice but to plead guilty to his crimes.
"Foster's child victims have been offered support and safeguarding referrals and I want to thank them and their families for the support they have shown our investigation.
"We take all reports of sexual abuse towards children seriously and if you have been a victim or you know someone who has been a victim of, please come forward and report it to police.
"We are here to listen and we will always treat you with sensitivity and compassion."
Foster was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must sign the Sex Offenders' Register.