Child predator caught by police decoy Derry court hears
Derry Crown Court has heard how a child predator who thought he was engaged in sexual communication with a 14-year-old was in fact in contact with a grown man who got sexual gratification from pretending to be a girl, before he was later snared by a police decoy.
The revelation came in the case of a man who was charged with two counts of attempted sexual communication with children and multiple counts of possession of indecent images.
The man, who cannot be named due to an anonymity order, admitted offences which occurred in the closing months of 2023.
The court heard that the man came to police attention due to an attempted sexual communication with what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl but which was in fact a police decoy.
He was visited by police and seized devices revealed he had also attempted to contact what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl but what was in fact a man.
The content of the communication was described as 'highly sexualised' and included arrangements to meet with the child.
On the man's phone police discovered 273 indecent images and 98 videos of various categories.
The court was told that the man sustained a serious brain injury after an accident at work and this resulted in a change in his personality and led to drug addiction problems.
Judge Roseanne McCormick KC said that the courts had to balance 'deterrence and rehabilitation' and imposed a sentence of an enhanced combination order of 100 hours community service and three years probation.
He will also be subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for a period of 10 years.