A former Cumbrian councillor caught in a sting as he engaged in explicit online sexual chat and then arranged to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old boy has been jailed.
William Kirkbride, 57, was described as a predatory paedophile by a judge at Carlisle Crown Court who handed down a 28-month prison sentence yesterday.
Kirkbride — who formerly represented the Harbour ward on Copeland council — had initiated a conversation on the Grindr social media dating app, in October 2021.
This quickly turned sexual with Kirkbride making explicit references, saying that he lived in central Whitehaven and was “in need of some fun”.
He was actually chatting with an undercover law enforcement operative posing as a boy, who responded to being told that Kirkbride was aged 55 by saying he was a lot younger than him and worried about being blocked off the platform.
Kirkbride said he would not grass on him.
Three times, Kirkbride, of Queen Street, Whitehaven, was told the boy was 14. On the second occasion after the boy asked “am I not too young for you?”, Kirkbride replied: “The law is clear on that but who follows the law these days?”
Their chat ended after more explicit messages were sent. He asked the boy to let him know if he was ever in Whitehaven town centre, and then agreed to meet him at the town train station.
But on the evening of October 27, two police officers stopped and arrested Kirkbride, whose phone showed notifications linked to the boy.
While in the back of a police vehicle, Kirkbride said: “Well I’m bang to rights aren’t I? You’ve got me guv. Am I going to be in Durham for Christmas?”
When interviewed, Kirkbride admitted sending the messages but initially maintained that he believed him to be over the age of 18. Kirkbride later pleaded guilty — on an agreed formal basis — to a charge of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.
This basis stated that there would have been sexual touching and that he believed the boy to be under 16. Kirkbride, a man of previous good character, was jailed by Recorder Ian Unsworth QC. He must follow the strict terms of a sexual harm prevention order, and sign the sex offenders’ register, both for an indefinite period.
