A child sex offender brought to justice by concerned vigilante group parents as he made online sexual advances to what he believed were young teenage girls has been jailed for two years.
Joshua Patrick Sibbald, 23, had been released from a previous prison sentence on licence only a matter of weeks before he committed new offences earlier this year.
Having returned to the community, Sibbald acquired a internet-enabled mobile phone he was banned from having under the terms of a punishment he received in July 2020. On that occasion he was handed a three-year jail term for sexual activity with a schoolgirl.
A judge at Carlisle Crown Court today expressed grave concern that Sibbald was given no professional help to address his issues while behind bars.
While isolated between mid-February and early March, Sibbald turned to drink and propositioned what he thought were 13-year-old and 14-year-old girls through a dating application and WhatsApp.
In fact he was chatting with members of decoys provided by members of safety teams — including concerned parents — who aim to stamp out the predatory online instincts of offenders.
Having made contact with the decoys, Sibbald immediately made suggestions that they should meet up for sexual intercourse. In his messages, Sibbald asked for naked photographs of the girls, discussed sexual acts he would like to perform on them, spoke of making arrangements to book hotels and also discussed having intercourse in the back of his car,
The judge, Recorder Tony Hawks, told Sibbald: “The fact the girls, or decoys, were saying it was not possible because of their ages did not deter you.”
Sibbald admitted eight charges of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. He also pleaded guilty to making 27 indecent photographs of children — three classed in category A, the most serious — and breaching a court order by having the phone.
Recorder Hawks had read a raft of background reports, and said it was a matter of considerable regret that Sibbald had received no assistance in custody to address a range of personal and learning difficulties. He ordered that detailed psychiatric and psychological reports produced by doctors should be sent to prison medical staff.
His barrister, Kim Whittlestone, told the court: “The hope is that he will start to get the support he desperately requires.”
Sibbald, of Salterbeck Drive, Workington, had been recalled to prison on licence until next year. He was handed a two-year jail term for his new crimes, and must sign the sex offenders’ register for the next 10 years.
Recorder Hawks ordered that the mobile phone should be forfeited and destroyed.