Locations
Woodlands Road, Middlesbrough, TS1
Description
A paedophile who groomed a girl online for years while using a fake profile then abused her in person is starting a lengthy jail term.
In May this year, Shabaz Hussain was found guilty of 12 child sex offences including five counts of engaging sexual activity with a child. He was sentenced on Tuesday to nine years' imprisonment at Teesside Crown Court.
His offending also included sexual communication with a child and arranging/facilitating commission of a child sex offence and three counts of possessing indecent images of children. A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said examination of his devices showed that Hussain, of Woodlands Road in Middlesbrough, had groomed a female child online over a number of years from when she was 12.
In order to gain the child’s trust, Hussain had also created a fake female child profile. "This profile was also used to communicate with the child reinforcing trust in Hussain and it was used to exploit and manipulate the victim," said a police spokesperson.
"The online grooming would eventually lead to Hussain arranging to travel and meet the child when she was 15 years old in order to engage in sexual activity with her under false pretence." The sentencing followed a lengthy investigation by Cleveland Police’s specialist POLIT team (Paedophile Online Investigation Team).
It came after a referral was made to them regarding Hussain communicating online with a child. Speaking after the sentencing, officer in the case, POLIT PC Evans heeded a warning to others about dangers online and also praised the victims' bravery.
“I’d like to pay tribute to the victims for their bravery in speaking to police and for supporting our enquiries which inevitably meant they had to relive their experiences with Hussain as we gathered information and evidence," said PC Evans.
“Hussain’s deceit in concealing his true identity while online and then when meeting the victims in person shows the danger he poses and I’m relieved he will now spend time in prison, with further restrictions on his freedoms after he is released. I hope the victims and their families can now begin to rebuild their lives.
“Cases like this illustrate the need for everyone to be aware of the dangers of speaking with people online. They may not be who they seem and we’d always urge extreme caution, especially when youngsters are engaging with people they don’t actually know.”