Record details
A convicted sex offender was ensnared by an online child safety group after befriending what he thought was a 13-year-old girl, pressuring her for sex, and asking if she would marry him.
Over a week in September, 64-year-old Allan Cunningham messaged the decoy (an adult), calling her “darling” and “baby,” asking for photos, and saying she was “beautiful.” He confessed wanting sex with her, repeatedly declared his love, demanded reciprocation, and grew angry when she didn't respond.
He proposed running away together, called her his “little school girlfriend,” and asked for marriage. He urged secrecy from her parents and friends, suggested she call him “Daddy Allan” as it aroused him, and dismissed her age as irrelevant. He used the alias “Billy.”
Cunningham, of Weaver’s Brook, Cumberland Close, Ovenden, Halifax, was confronted by the group, leading to police involvement. Phone analysis revealed deleted internet history, breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
He pleaded guilty to attempting sexual communication with a child, SHPO breach, and Sex Offender Register violation via alias. He also faced charges for assaulting two emergency workers (February 15 incident) and a malicious police call (June 8).
Cunningham had prior convictions for violence, threats to kill, harassment, assault, and attempted child sexual communications, for which he received a community order.
In mitigation, his mental health suffered after his wife's death, with anxiety and depression possibly influencing his actions; he was seeing a psychiatrist.
Recorder Andrew Dallas sentenced him to two years' imprisonment, a new 10-year SHPO until 2036, 10-year sex offender registration, and deprivation of his mobile phone.
