AN OSWESTRY man sent explicit pornography and sexually charged messages to an underage girl - who turned out to be a decoy set up by a paedophile hunters group.
Gareth Williams, 36 and of Whittington Road, was given a two-year jail sentence on Wednesday, February 15 after previously pleading guilty to two counts - but the sentence was suspended in part because he is the sole carer for his wife.
He was jailed for count two of inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity, with no separate penalty for one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child.
The court heard that Williams had been caught out by a decoy 14-year-old girl – known as Danni – set up by a vigilante group between May 29 and June 20, 2021.
Police were called to the property by his wife – who has multiple sclerosis – after members of the group turned up to confront him over the messages he had sent to the decoy.
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Judge Niclas Parry was told that over the month-long period, Williams promised the decoy gifts and foreign holidays, was well aware that ‘Danni’ was under 16, and continued to exhibit grooming behaviour via Messenger and Kik.
His comments soon became highly sexualised, and he sent the decoy a guide to the female sexual organs to show how she could engage in solo sexual activity.
He also sent her explicit pornography, referencing how he wanted to do the same to her, and urged her not to tell adults and to delete messages.
In mitigation, Williams’s defence said that he was his wife’s sole carer with 100 per cent dependency and that he was working towards addressing his interest in females aged under 16 with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.
In sentencing him, Judge Parry said: “You were prepared to abuse a child by social media in what were repeated instances, knowing full well that she was 14 at the outset.
“You groomed your victim with gifts and offers of holidays before you moved quite quickly to pressure her into sexual activity, and you took steps to pressurise her to not tell anyone.
“The level of harm is the most serious because you pressured a child to penetrate herself, and there was a significant disparity of age, while sexual images were solicited.
“But I also bear in mind that mercifully there was no victim, no child, unbeknown to you, and I apply a downward aspect of the sentence for that.
“I also bear in mind, looking at her, the impact on your wife because of her dependence on you and I do acknowledge that you accept you have an interest in underage girls.
“Don’t let your wife and mother down again.”
Williams was also given 30 days of rehabilitation activity, 120 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £156.
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