Locations
Dunhill Road, Goole, East Riding Of Yorkshire, DN14
Description
A ‘VILE’ man from East Yorkshire has been jailed after he attempted to groom someone who he believed to be a teenage girl online.
Phillip Buckingham, 61, of Dunhill Road, Goole, pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and was sentenced to nine months in prison.
He was also given a sexual harm prevention order and will be placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.
An investigation was launched into Buckingham in November 2022 after he used messaging apps under the username ‘funtimefred’ to contact a social media profile which he believed belonged to a 13-year-old girl.
Over the course of several days, between Sunday, November 6 and Wednesday, 9 November 2022, he sent a series of sexually explicit messages, including an indecent image of himself, and encouraged the recipient to send a photo in return.
But the profile was a decoy operated by an undercover police officer, set up to identify and stop individuals attempting to talk to children online.
Following further enquiries, officers observed Buckingham using his phone outside his place of work. He was then arrested on suspicion of engaging in sexual communication with a child and taken into custody to be interviewed.
Officer in the case, Detective Constable Paul Twidale said:
“Buckingham is a vile individual who sought to exploit who he believed to be a vulnerable child.
“When questioned, Buckingham denied his intentions, stating that if those he had spoken to online had turned out to be under 18, he would have ended the chat.
“Thankfully no child was harmed as Buckingham was talking to a decoy social media account, and I am pleased he is now behind bars and facing the consequences of his disturbing behaviour.
“I’d like to commend the dedication and professionalism of our undercover officers, whose efforts play a vital role in protecting children and bringing offenders to justice.
“We take reports of sexual offences extremely seriously and we will continue to do everything we can to bring offenders before the courts.”