A Workington man caught in a police sting as he engaged in sexually explicit and persistent online contact with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl has been jailed.
Mark Adams, 39, masqueraded as a gay 21-year-old woman and used images of an unsuspecting adult female he knew to set up a fake dating site profile.
Over the course of several days in February 2020, Adams almost instantly struck up lewd and unlawful chat with what he was told early on was a 13-year-old girl. On successive days he repeatedly requested indecent photographs, sent images and encouraged her to engage in sexual activity.
On one day, the conversation referred to the “girl” wearing school uniform and walking home from lessons.
However, it emerged the user was an undercover police officer from Durham police. Prosecutor Damian Nolan told Carlisle Crown Court today that Adams had been seeking to “drive the conversation from start to finish”.
After Cumbria Constabulary were alerted to the offending, two devices — a laptop and mobile phone — were seized from Adams. Despite overwhelming evidence being unearthed during forensic analysis, he made a series of steadfast denials before admitting five charges. These were four of sexual communication with a child and one, more seriously, of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity.
Adams, of Rowe Terrace, Workington, had no previous convictions and undergone “shame, humiliation and embarrassment” when his criminal conduct was made public, said his barrister, Anthony Parkinson.
The woman whose images were used in Adams’ fake profile was described as being “distressed” when she learned what he had done.
Judge Nicholas Barker jailed Adams for 27 months. “Your communications were highly sexualised, highly determined, persistent, demanding and controlling,” said Judge Barker, who also highlighted Adams’ deceit. The defendant must sign the sex offenders’ register, and abide by the strict terms of a sexual harm prevention order, both for 10 years.
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