Latest Offenders Cheshire

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Louise Smith, 42, formally of Cheshire, was jailed for 11 years after pleading guilty to 12 counts of sexual activity in the presence of a child and causing a child to commit a sexual act.

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A paedophile from Runcorn who took pictures of himself raping a baby received a life sentence at Chester Crown Court yesterday for his "despicable" crimes. Gareth Andrew Davis, 43, of Ashridge Street, Runcorn, was caught after 512 child abuse images were discovered in a Google account in his name by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

The judge handed down the sentence described it as the most serious case he had dealt with in 40 years. Cheryl Mottram, prosecuting, told the court that NCA investigators suspected that Davis himself featured among the images, which lead to a warrant being executed at Davis' home. Following his arrest, it was established that some of the images showed Davis abusing a baby.

A photograph Davis had covertly taken of a naked child on a beach in North Wales was also found amongst the images. Some images had been shared with a male in the North East, and Davis had also discussed abuse in an online chat room.

Davis had also taken over 600 images of himself simulating sexual abuse with a child's baby doll, including some images of Davis with his hand round the neck simulating strangulation. These pictures were referred to as evidence of an additional "violent" risk posed by Davis.

In December, Davis pled guilty to to rape of a child under 13, sexual assault by penetration of a child under 13, and three counts of making indecent images: 36 of the most heinous type, Category A, 382 Category B and 94 Category C images. A further five counts were ordered to lie on file.

Judge Steven Everett, Recorder of Chester, compared the case with that of former Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins, who was convicted of abuse in 2014. Watkins was handed a 35-year sentence, 29 years in prison plus six on extended licence.

Davis had no previous convictions, but Judge Everett said this could not be used as mitigation as he had used his supposed good character as means to have access to commit abuse. He said that Daviss troubling images of himself simulating strangulation meant alarm bells are truly ringing.

He told the court: They cause me real concern, not just of a sexual nature, a sexual nature is bad enough, but real concern that hes a double danger in that regard.

He opted not to impose a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) because of the long time Davis would inevitably serve in prison and on life licence. The judge told the court that psychiatric and probation reports found Davis had no mental illness as medically defined.

Instead, Davis had sought to minimise his vile acts and claimed Covid-19 lockdown isolation left feeling lonely and keen to comply with requests from other sick individuals. Judge Everett dismissed that as arrant nonsense", reminding the court that the crimes began prior to the pandemic.

Paul Becker, appearing on behalf of the defence, said he did not want the public gallery to think Im in any way condoning what occurred which are disgraceful and wicked offences to a very young baby, and said it would be ludicrous to argue Davis should not be classed as dangerous following his horrendous crimes.

He argued mitigation for Davis's early guilty pleas, lack of previous convictions, work history and feelings of humiliation, worthlessness and some remorse.

Mr Becker said the risk posed to the public by David would reduce while he was in custody.

He said: The defendant in custody has gained some education, maths and English.

He holds a trusted position as a mentor, hes working as a wing cleaner, hes gone on a mental health course to address emotions and anxiety.

The judge said a life sentence was wholly inevitable.

Judge Everett passed a life sentence, comprising a 27-year prison term with life licence - which enables Davis' recall to prison if he breaches his release conditions.

Sentencing Davis, he said: What youve pleaded guilty to is the most serious case Ive had to deal with concerning serious sexual offences.

Its the most serious case Ive dealt with in 40 years or more as a solicitor, barrister and then judge.

Ive not come across a case as serious as this. Its of the extremist seriousness. Its depraved, disgusting, despicable. I could go on.

Its difficult in fact to describe just how bad this case is and what a terrible effect its had on so many people.

He added: You got caught fortunately because Ive no doubt had you not been caught you would have continued to be an extreme danger to children, (a victim) and others.

You should understand that some of the matters you put forward to the psychiatrist and probation officer, I utterly reject.

Commenting on Daviss potential for violence, Judge Everett said: You harboured those terrible views towards young children and Im satisfied you harbour not just views of a sexual nature but of an extremely violent nature including murder.

Im quite satisfied you harbour those views.

These views came out in an awful way.

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Richard Young was 'actively involved in supervising children' when he shouldn't have been A chef with a dark secret befriended families and supervised their children despite being a convicted sex offender. Richard Young even failed to tell his new partner about his perverted past and moved to Wrexham without informing the police. The 42-year-old of Stoneley Road in Crewe appeared before Judge Rhys Rowlands at Mold Crown Court after being handed a suspended sentence in July 2018 for committing an act of voyeurism against a young girl. Prosecutor, Anna Price said he had filmed the youngster showering with the use of a small camera hidden in a toothpaste packet. A 10-year sexual harm prevention order was also imposed with conditions to inform police if he changed his address. It was only last October when concerns about his safefy were reported to officers that it came to light he was no longer living in Cheshire as they believed. Instead, he had set up a new home in Wrexham. The court heard how he had signed a tenancy agreement on a property back in March 2020 and had been living with a new partner and her young son. Ms Price said that his partner wasn't aware of his past, believing he was on a court order for domestic violence. The judge said he was a man "who has people believe what he wants them to". His new home was on an estate which was described as being a "very close-knit community." People would socialise together at birthdays and barbeques and the local children would play. The court heard young girls would play at Young's house despite him being banned from having unsupervised contact with any girl under the age of 16. Young even had a pool set up in the garden during the summer months and was "actively involved in supervising the children", Ms Price said. None of the parents on the estate knew about Young's past and said they wouldn't have let their children "anywhere near him" if they had. One of the mums she was "furious" he felt able to integrate himself into their lives and felt "physically sick" having allowed him to have contact with her young daughter. When Young was arrested at his workplace on November 2 last year, the police found that he had two mobile phones and a laptop that he hadn't declared to them. Defending Young, Henry Hills, said his client was "under no illusion" that his offences will land him in custody. He said that, in his desire to "live a different life", Young got "too deep" and felt unable to tell anyone the truth the longer his lies went on. However, Mr Hills wanted the court to acknowledge that no direct harm was caused to any young child. He said that his client has "learned a valuable lesson" and "will not repeat this behaviour". Jailing Young for 14 months, judge Rowlands said prison was the only option as Young showed he was "quite prepared" to ignore court orders. He added: "Neither your partner at the time, nor the parents knew anything of your past. "Your behaviour overall was a calculated and deliberate attempt to evade the terms of the court orders that imposed restrictions you weren't prepared to accept."

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Joshua Corless, who has been caged for 13 years, offered to take the 19-year-old woman home before carrying out a sickening attack. A predator who took an unwell woman home after a night out went on to subject her to a horrendous sexual assault. Joshua Corless met up with the group on a night out in 2020 and then raped the defenceless 19-year-old in her own home. The brute offered to take his victim back to her house after she had become extremely unwell. Corless, offered to walk with the victim, going to her home address before carrying out his despicable attack. The victim reported the incident to police and Corless was arrested and charged with rape. He initially denied the charge, only changing his plea after the woman went through the trauma of giving evidence in court, according to Lancashire Live. Corless, from Widnes, has now been jailed for 13 years for the rape and other offences committed in Cheshire. He has also been made subject of notification requirements - informally known as the sex offenders register - for life. Det Sgt Diane Higham, of Lancashire Police, said: Joshua Corless is a sexual predator who targeted his victim, exploiting her vulnerable nature for his own depraved ends. He pursued her, playing on the fact she was unwell to commit a horrendous sex attack. I must thank the victim for her bravery in reporting the offences and facing her abuser through the court process. I also wish to place on record my thanks to the investigating officer Det Con Kieran Helps, who fully supported the victim throughout. This investigation highlights our commitment to preventing and detecting offences of rape and serious sexual assault. We want victims to feel confident that they will be treated with compassion and that we will do everything possible to trace those responsible and take action against them. Id like to offer reassurance that any reports of sexual offences, new or old, will be dealt with sensitively, thoroughly and professionally, with the interests of the victims and their families being our priority.

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A disgraceful child abuser preyed on a sleeping boy in a tent.

Michael Cullen, now 36, of Catherine Street, Widnes, faced justice on Monday at Liverpool Crown Court after jurors convicted him at trial on March 10 of one count of engaging in sexual activity with a child and one of incitement.

Henry Riding, prosecuting, said Cullen had displayed elements of planning and grooming behaviour before abusing the young teenager.

Judge David Swinnerton said that during the day before the offences, Cullen had indulged in behaviour of a type that were it to have happened between two people of the same age one might describe as flirtation.

This was namely spraying water at the boys groin, drawing a dog on his thigh, and stroking his leg with his foot.

He said Cullen had woken his victim while he was sleeping in a tent, touched him under clothes and coaxed the boy to do the same to him.

Cullens victim felt like he was having an anxiety attack and zipped his sleeping bag back up.

Mr Riding said the boy had provided two impact statements but did not want them to be read out in court.

Judge Swinnerton confirmed he had read them and the victim said the abuse had a significant impact on him, and the boy had struggled to sleep and his relationships had been affected.

Carmel Wilde, defending, said there had been no long-term grooming and no drink, drugs or luring, and although there was a disparity in age, she called it not a gross disparity - a claim later rejected by the judge.

She urged the judge to consider that Cullen had no previous convictions and showed willing to engage in the Horizon sex offender programme, adding he remained in denial.

Ms Wilde said there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and said references had been submitted to the court describing positives in Cullens character, suggesting a suspended sentence with rehabilitation could serve the public interest.

She said there had been threats in connection with the case, including that Cullen would be killed if he was imprisoned.

Judge Swinnerton sentenced Cullen to three years in prison and placed him on the sex offenders register for life alongside a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order.

Branding the abuse disgraceful, he said: There was undoubtedly a significant disparity in your ages and there are elements of planning and grooming.

Cullen must also pay a statutory victim surcharge.

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A CONVICTED rapist from Chester tried to contact his victim weeks after being released from prison. Neil James Shaw, 37, previously of Blacon, was jailed for eight years and told to sign the sex offenders' register for life after being found guilty of rape in June 2018. He was released from prison in December 2021, to serve the remainder of his sentence out on licence, but within weeks he had tried to contact his victim by sending her a friend request on Facebook on February 4, Chester Crown Court heard on Thursday, April 14. That put Shaw, who had been staying in London Road, Sandbach, in breach of an indefinite restraining order which prevented him from contacting his victim. Judge Patrick Thompson jailed Shaw for 18 months, after Shaw admitted the breach. Shaw had previously been convicted by a Chester Crown Court jury of rape, common assault, putting a person in fear of violence and engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour. He had also breached a restraining order then. Shaw raped his victim by refusing to stop during consensual sex despite the victim becoming upset and telling him no and to stop. After the rape he allegedly told her: Its not rape if its your bird. After the 2018 conviction, the victim said: If people read this article and are going through what I went through, I hope it gives them the strength to come forward. People will believe you. Nobody should make you feel that low about yourself when they are in the wrong. If I have saved one person by them reading this then thats more than enough for me. At Chester Crown Court this month, a statement from the victim told of the impact at receiving the friend request on Facebook, and how she feared Shaw would subsequently visit her home. Detective Constable Kelly Birch from Chester CID said: I welcome the sentence handed to Shaw and I hope that it acts as a warning to others. Shaw was well aware of the restrictions against him yet despite this he still tried to contact his victim via Facebook, causing her further unnecessary distress and anxiety. Thankfully the victim had the courage to come forward and report the breach to police, and as a result Shaw is now back behind bars.

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A MAN from Cheshire who sexually assaulted a sleeping child and shared indecent images he had taken online has been jailed for four years and four months. Craig Crowther, 31, was identified by National Crime Agency investigators as username craggy2014 who, on numerous occasions, discussed his sexual interest in children with who he believed were other paedophiles online. In May 2020, Crowther, of Tilstone Close, Northwich, told an undercover police officer posing as another user that he likes to get involved with children, and had access to a child who he had sexually abused. Frances Willmott, prosecuting in Chester Crown Court today, April 14, said he even shared indecent images of the child in order to get accepted into an online paedophile group. The court heard how on July 15, 2020, he had conversations with an undercover FBI officer and shared 10 images of children, even encouraging the officer, who he believed was another user, to take pictures of a child and send them to him. Crowther bragged he had taken a sexually explicit photo of a sleeping child who he had sexually assaulted and also admitted to videoing the child but then deleting it immediately, knowing it was wrong. Crowther was arrested in July 2021 where 56 indecent images of children were found on his phone between categories A and C, including some of him sexually assaulting a child. When NCA officers arrested Crowther, he made a number of comments including, my life is over, nobody knows, Ive been expecting you, I know what Ive done and what Ive been on and I got no sexual gratification from it. He was charged with three counts of assault of a child under 13 by touching, three counts of making indecent images of a child (ranging from category A-C), two counts of taking indecent images (category B and C) and two counts of distributing category C indecent images. Crowther pleaded guilty to all the charges on February 11 this year at Chester Magistrates Court. Defending, Brian Treadwell, told the court his client did express remorse for his actions and accepted full responsibility. Crowther was sentenced to four years and four months in prison at Chester Crown Court today, April 14. Once released, he will remain on licence for four years, as well as being subject to a lifetime sexual harm prevention order and placed on the sex offenders register for life. Sentencing, Judge Patrick Thompson said: You made it clear in conversations that you have an unhealthy interest in young children. He added that his explanations for his behaviour in his pre-sentence report were full of denial, one of those being that he only shared images online to catch out other paedophiles - a claim which the judge dismissed. It seems to me that you are not prepared to accept the reality that you are a paedophile, Judge Thompson told him. I am afraid children must be protected from men like you. NCA investigations manager Hazel Stewart said: Craig Crowthers crimes were despicable, and our intervention helped safeguard children. He was prepared to share explicit images of his victim to like-minded individuals online, bragging about his abuse to gain their respect. His actions were callous beyond belief and by his own admission, he knew exactly what he was doing. The NCA works to protect those affected by child sexual abuse and disrupt offenders who pose a sexual threat to children, ensuring they face justice.

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A man has been jailed after he was found guilty of a serious sexual offence against a child under five years old

At his trial on 31st January 2022, David Shaw formerly of Winsford but more recently Crewe was found guilty of committing a serious sexual offence against a young person known to him.

At Chester Crown Court he was sentenced to three years and six months imprisonment

A sexual harm prevention order was put in place to prevent him from engaging in a particular activity which includes:

- Having any unsupervised access to any child aged under 16

- Must not live in the same household as a child aged under 16 without written approval from childrens social services

- Conditions not to have any contact with the victim

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A 25-YEAR-OLD man from Ellesmere Port has been jailed after breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order by possessing indecent images of children. Neil Webb, of Bruera Road, Ellesmere Port, was sentenced to 20 months in prison at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, March 8. He had earlier pleaded guilty to two sexual harm breaches and breaching his suspended sentence. Webb was previously convicted of possessing and making indecent images of children at Cheshire Magistrates Court on February 12, 2021 and sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months. He was also subjected to the notification requirements of the Sex Offender Register and given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. DS Keith Campbell said: As a registered sex offender Webb was required to adhere to a number of conditions to deter him from reoffending. An officer allocated to monitoring him visited his home address on June 25 to ensure he was keeping to his conditions. "Following a check of his mobile phone, she discovered it was on private browsing mode which masked his internet history - a breach of his prevention order. The officer then checked the device, and no indecent images of children were found. But on further scrutiny of the phone, the officer discovered there were in excess of 350 bookmarked URLs (or web addresses). These related to category C indecent images of children. On February 2, a warrant was executed at Webbs home address and a further phone, which was not registered with the police, was seized from him. This was found to contain 198 images indicative of indecent images of children. DS Keith Campbell said: This shows the effectiveness of monitoring offenders who are subject to Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and highlights the consequences of not adhering to the conditions. I hope it reassures people that we do carefully monitor registered sex offenders in the community and take action when a breach is discovered.

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A PAEDOPHILE drama teacher sent sexually explicit messages to a 14-year-old pupil he met during rehearsals for a school play.

Jason Ryan, from Grappenhall, was handed a 10-year notification requirement at Warrington Magistrates Court on Tuesday, March 1, following his conviction in the Republic of Ireland last year.

The dad was spared prison in December after admitting sexual exploitation of a child.

Sligo Circuit Court heard that his offending occurred over the period of a month during 2014, during which he bombarded the girl with dozens of Facebook messages many of which were of a sexual nature.

Ryan, of Kildonan Road, used the pseudonym John Marks and first contacted his victim a month after the musical was staged.

On one day alone he sent her 40 messages, including one with pictures from her account alongside the caption mmmm.

The now 43-year-old who ran his own production company sent her a photograph of herself in a bikini beside a pool during a family holiday, leaving her feel uncomfortable.

On the advice of friends, she reported Ryans behaviour to a teacher and the schools principal subsequently contacted police.

His then home in Kilkenny was then raided by officers in July 2014 when his wife and three children were present.

The defendant was arrested at the scene with a laptop, mobile phone and tablet seized by the Garda and a lengthy investigation followed.

Ryan, who ran his own production company, was also found to have complimented the girl on her eyes, smile and body stating in one message: You look so hot and your body is so mmm.

He claimed to have been aroused by a picture of her, about which he said: You have to admit you look hot in that pic.

She was also asked if she had a boyfriend and whether she was sexually active, but after reminding him that she was 14 the teacher replied he knew some girls who start at 12.

The complainant then told him to leave her alone, to which he responded that he thought the conversation might turn you on a little.

Ryan then apologised and admitted that he was attracted to her before agreeing to cease his messaging.

Under interview, he confessed to using the Facebook account and claimed that he thought the girl was aged 15 or 16.

A statement read out to the court on her behalf described how she was left anxious and frightened for years afterwards and became less interested in music and drama as a result.

Ryan, whose partner died in November 2020, was described by his defence counsel as a good person who did a very stupid thing.

He was working at an NHS vaccination centre as of late last year.

Judge Francis Comerford imposed a 23-month imprisonment suspended for 23 months.

Ryan who has one previous conviction for a minor motoring offence was this week ordered to sign the offenders register at Warrington Police Station within three days by magistrates panel chairman Lynn Colter-Howard.

Representing himself in court, he replied by saying: I fully understand, thank you very much.

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A RAPIST has been jailed for nearly seven years after admitting sexual offences. Joshua Foote, of Newhaven Road in Orford, raped and sexually assaulted a woman during the incident in June 2019. The 24-year-old was handed six years and eight months behind bars on Monday, February 21, having pleaded guilty to rape and sexual assault. He was also told to sign the sex offenders register for life and ordered to pay a 170 victim surcharge.

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A RUNCORN paedophile abused two children over a period of several years and offered to pay for sexual favours from them. The offences committed by Alan Kent, from Runcorn, were two separate spates of abuse between 2005 and 2019. He preyed on the children in a similar way although there were ten years between the periods of his offending his abuse of one child began around 2005 and the other around 2015. The Crown Prosecution Service said that Kent offered to pay for sexual favours from them and indulged his sexual fantasises while the children understood very little of what he was asking them to do. The parents of the children knew nothing of the abuse. It came to light when they spoke out. One told a partner when she was an adult, the other told a teacher at her school. The police were called in and Kent was arrested at his home in June 2019 and was eventually charged with 9 counts of sexual assault on a child, four of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one charge of attempting to sexually assaulting a child. He denied all of the charges but was convicted following a trial. On Friday at Liverpool Crown Court, Kent was jailed for seven years and was placed on the Sexual Offenders Register for life. He was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order that bans him from any contact with girls under the age of 16 and from making any contact with either of his victims. Jo Lazzari is Head of the rape and serious sexual offences Unit at CPS Mersey Cheshire. She said: Alan Kents offending has spanned several years and caused unimaginable distress and trauma to his two victims. His offending seemed to get worse over the years and he has learnt nothing from the harm he has done. He is now in his Seventies and some of his offending dates back almost twenty years. But that is no hindrance to the Crown Prosecution Service bringing a prosecution. The CPS would like to thank the victims in this case and their families for coming forward and helping us to get this dangerous predatory offender jailed. Their courage in supporting a trial has undoubtedly made other children safe from his depravity. We recognise that abuse stays with survivors for their whole life. If there are people out there who have been affected by similar trauma we would urge you to come forward no matter how long ago it happened. We are working with the Police and the Courts to make sure as many abusers as possible are brought to Justice and that victims receive the support they deserve.

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A teen found with images of girls aged three or four being sexually abused had been downloading child abuse pictures since he was 13.

Ryan Cham was found with 878 indecent images of children when police raided his parents home in Noctorum and seized electronic devices from him last year.

Later analysis revealed that Cham, now 19, had first downloaded indecent images in October 2016, when he was just 13.

However, Carmel Wilde, prosecuting, said Cham later told police his offending had mainly escalated during the pandemic when he was isolated and spent far more time online.

Police eventually raided his familys home in February last year after tracing his details to an indecent image uploaded to the Discord app.

Ms Wilde said an analysis revealed that some of the images showed girls as young as three or four being raped.

She added that 150 of the images fell into the most serious Category A, with 287 in Category B and 441 in Category C.

Cham had also pleaded guilty to possessing two images which were extreme pornography.

Quentin Neal, defending, said Cham had already sought support to try to address his offending and had accepted responsibility for the offences early by pleading guilty to making and possessing indecent images of children.

He also pointed to Chams lack of maturity when he started offending.

Mr Neal said: It was an early guilty plea, there were admissions made at the police station stage.

Your honour has referred to the defendants lack of maturity, he was between 13 and 18 when these offences were committed.

Mr Neal said a combination of factors made Chams one of those very exceptional cases where a community order was appropriate as opposed to a prison sentence.

The judge, Recorder Eric Lamb, said character references submitted by Chams family and friends revealed the shock many of them felt once his offending became clear.

Recorder Lam said: It comes as a shock to those who know you and love you that you have behaved in the way that you did by downloading disgusting images of children suffering abuse.

Your loved ones are at a loss to explain your conduct and it becomes more concerning and unusual when I read the character references that have been uploaded on your behalf.

Recorder Lam said he felt Chams was a case where a community order would be the most effective way to protect the public in the future and that Cham had taken clear steps towards getting support to stop him reoffending.

He added that a pre sentence report had assessed his risk of reoffending as low if he was given the correct support.

Cham, of Saughall, was made the subject of a community order for 30 months.

That order will see him take part in an intensive course aimed at stopping reoffending among those convicted of a sexual offence.

He must undertake 35 rehabilitation days and pay a 500 fine.

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A paedophile told a supposed teenage girl: "I want to be the man who teaches you everything you need to know about sex."

James Smith, 44, who even called himself a "nonce pedo" online, targeted underage girls on chat forums.

Smith thought he was talking to a 14-year-old child called 'Darcie' when he discussed performing a sex act on her.

The predator sent her a photo of his penis and joked that what he was doing was "classed as grooming a minor LOL".

But he was actually talking to a decoy profile, set up by paedophile hunter group Children Online Battling Real Abuse (Cobra).

The pervert is today starting a prison sentence after it emerged he had also chatted to another COBRA decoy, 13-year-old 'Bekki'.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Smith, of Halliday Close, Birchwood, Warrington, started talking with Bekki on the chat platform SayHi last June.

Smith, whose profile featured a picture of a dog but also a second image showing a naked torso, had a bio saying he was a "nonce/pedo".

He asked Bekki "hey sexy girl, how are you?" before asking how old she was, when she explained she was 13.

Natalia Cornwall, prosecuting, said Smith told her he was a sex offender who had been convicted for having sex with a 13-year-old girl, which the court heard isn't in fact true.

The conversation moved to WhatsApp and they continued talking about general topics until August, when Smith's messages turned sexual and he told Bekki he had been drinking and doing "silly things" like trying on knickers, tights and miniskirts.

Ms Cornwall said he went on to say he loved girls' underwear and if she was in her underwear, he'd "well look".

Smith told Bekki that he loved to perform a certain sex act and if they met, he would like to touch her, before claiming his real name was John.

The court heard Smith carried on talking with Bekki until October, but no arrangements were ever made to meet her, despite her asking in September how they would meet if she didn't know where he lived, and him replying that he would always meet in a public place.

However, in September he started talking with Darcie on the app Jaumo, who told him she was 14 after he messaged saying she was "sexy", using the name John McGee.

Despite knowing of her apparent age, he said she was "hot" and in one message talked about her "staying the night" with him at his address.

He made the comment about teaching her about sex, talked about performing a sex act on her, sent the naked photo, and joked about grooming.

Ms Cornwall said Smith suggested meeting Darcie on more than one occasion, saying that she could meet him in Warrington in late October, only for him to then go quiet online.

On November 5 he made arrangements to meet Darcie at Manchester Oxford Road station and told her what train he was getting and that he would text before he arrived, but he didn't in fact travel.

Smith then disclosed his address to an adult decoy, before Cobra went to his home and confronted him about the vile chats on November 11, which they live streamed on Facebook.

The group also contacted police, who arrested the pervert.

When interviewed, he told officers he knew the accounts were decoys set up by paedophile hunters and that he only engaged with them to get "cheap thrills".

Smith later admitted attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Philip Tully, defending, said his client didn't have any previous convictions, but accepted he had a caution for sexual assault in 2005.

He said Smith recalled this involved him trying to "console" a 15-year-old girl by hugging her and giving her a peck on the head and there wasn't any sexual motivation behind it.

Urging the judge to spare him jail, Mr Tully said Smith had a good work record and had shown "genuine remorse" and insight into his offending.

He said: "Shortly before the commission of these offences, he had to deal with the very difficult time in his life of the death of his father, someone who he cared for. That seems to have had a profound effect upon him.

"He's not someone in the best of health - diagnosed with COPD and also a skin disorder."

Mr Tully said Smith had been "absolutely frank" with the author of a pre-sentence report about why he committed the offences and was open to help from the Probation Service, which he argued Smith - who had already spent three months in custody - wouldn't receive if he was sent to prison.

The judge, Recorder Rick Pratt, QC, said Smith took steps which were "more than merely preparatory".

He said: "Whatever the truth of the matter was, you believed you were communicating with young children, and children who were significantly below the age where they could properly make sexual decisions for themselves, and you preyed on what you believed to be that innocence."

The judge said the offences involving Darcie were more serious and said: "Your conversations with her demonstrated in my view a clear intention of what you had in mind."

Describing what Smith had said about wanting to teach Darcie about sex, the judge added: "It also included - perhaps somewhat sinisterly - the phrase that what you were doing 'would be classed as grooming a minor LOL'."

Recorder Pratt said he was satisfied Smith had intended to take part in penetrative sexual activity with Darcie.

The judge said he took into account Smith's mitigation, and "most importantly that no child was actually involved".

He said: "That does provide some mitigation because the case doesn't involve actual harm to a child here.

"Nevertheless, I have to balance that against your very clear intention."

Giving him 25% credit for his guilty pleas at a plea hearing, the judge jailed Smith for two years and three months.

He told him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and said he must comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order indefinitely.

Description

A SEX offender has been sent back to prison for a second breach of a court order designed to prevent further offending. Keir Dean flouted his sexual harm prevention order within months after being released from custody for his first breach. The 24-year-old, who was previously sentenced for sexual activity with a child, was prohibited from having mobile phones capable of storing digital images. But police found three such devices after attending an address he was present at. Dean was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court, appearing via video link from HMP Altcourse, over charges of breaching his sexual harm prevention order and possessing cannabis. Nardeen Nemat, prosecuting, explained how he was found in possession of two iPhones and one Samsung mobile phone, but nothing incriminating was found on them. The defendant was made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order in July 2018 for two offences of sexual activity with a child. The court heard how he previously breached this order in July 2019 when he sent snapchat messages using a mobile phone, and he was sentenced in March 2020 to two years in prison. The defendant was released in March 2021, but when police attended an address at which he was present on September 20, they found him to be in possession of two bags of cannabis. He initially told officers he had no phones, but police found three at the address, with the Samsung phone showing messages sent by him. During his police interview, he said he did not know who the iPhones belonged to, and that the Samsung belonged to a relative that had leant it to him days earlier. Ms Nemat told the court that this was a deliberate breach of the order for a second time and revealed that this was the defendants sixth appearance in court. Zahra Baqri, defending, said: The best mitigation I can offer is that he pleaded guilty at the first hearing. I ask that he be afforded full credit for his guilty pleas and that you pass the shortest sentence possible commensurate with your public duty. Before sentencing, judge Robert Trevor-Jones said: This is the second time you have been before the court for a breach of a sexual harm prevention order. You came out of prison some time during 2021, and within a matter of months you were found in possession of three mobile phones capable of storing images, placing you in further breach of your order. When the phones were downloaded there was no incriminating material, but given the matter of your previous offending , you pose a clear and serious risk of harm if you were to use such devices without notifying the police about them. Dean, of Heather Close in Birchwood, was sentenced to two years in prison. An order was also approved for the forfeiture and destruction of the mobile phones and cannabis.