A 55-year-old Bridlington Paedophile, Simon Clayden, was apprehended in an undercover operation after transmitting “repugnant” texts to someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. On December 30, 2022, Simon Clayden from Bridlington transmitted “abhorrent” and “repugnant” sexual communications to a decoy adolescent over an online chat application.
Hull Crown Court was informed that the texts would have been “profoundly corrupting” had the girl been genuine. Nonetheless, her online account was important to a police initiative aimed at identifying and deterring online predators from potentially harming real children. He confessed to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a minor, attempting to induce a kid to participate in sexual behaviour, and committing two offences related to the creation of obscene photos of minors.
Ashleigh Metcalfe, for the prosecution, stated that the fictitious girl informed Simon Clayden she was 13, to which he responded, “cool,” and enquired about her attire. He requested to view her unclothed and persisted in sending sexualised texts, including posing explicit enquiries.
The communications were conveyed to the police, who visited Simon Clayden’s residence on February 2, 2023, after identifying him from his internet information.
The authorities investigated his phone and discovered five indecent photographs of youngsters in Category B and 22 in Category C, dated from October 2020 to February 2023.
The youngsters seen in the photographs were aged from four to 16 years. Sexual activities were implicated. During the police interrogation, the paedophile Simon Clayden refuted any sexual attraction to minors and disclaimed any awareness of the photographs of children on his mobile device.
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