A 33-year-old Warrington man who groomed young girls and persuaded them to send him sexually explicit images is behind bars and been given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Craig Stewart of Clay Lane, Burtonwood, appeared before Liverpool Crown Court where he was sentenced to a total of three years and four months in prison.
Detectives from British Transport Police were first alerted to Stewart’s behaviour back in July 2016 whilst carrying out a separate investigation into the exploitation of a 15-year-old girl.
When they examined her phone, they identified a series of conversations between her and Stewart. Detectives then traced the phone to the defendant and an arrest was made in September 2016.
Using the alias of ‘John Edwards’ the defendant sent messages to a number of young girls, and asked them to share explicit photos of themselves. Stewart used photos of unknown teenage boys in order to persuade his victims to send explicit photos of themselves to him.
Stewart had also made efforts to try and meet with his victims, who were from around the country, although physical contact was never made.
Stewart pleaded guilty to five counts of causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography contrary to section 48(1) of the Sexual Offences Act, and eight counts of making indecent images of a child contrary to section 1(1)a of the Protection of Children Act and one count of causing or inciting child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, contrary to section 8 (1) of the Sexual Offences Act.
Det Con Olly Saunders from British Transport Police said: “Stewart used an alias of a young boy in order to groom the girls. Over a period of time he exploited a number of young girls for his own sexual gratification. The steps he took in order to lure his victims into sharing extremely personal photographs was disgraceful.
“Stewart knew full well that the girls he was speaking with were below the age of 16. When we examined his mobile phone and laptop we uncovered some 120 indecent images and videos of children.
“I am very pleased with the sentence which the judge handed down today. It means that a sexual offender has been taken off our streets and is no longer able to exploit his victims.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank colleagues from the National Crime Agency, Metropolitan Police, Police Scotland, Greater Manchester Police and Devon and Cornwall Police.”
