Shaun Hatfield, the Market Weighton Paedophile, a ‘depraved’ individual who participated in sexual conversation with someone he believed to be a 12-year-old girl for 31 days, has been jailed after appearing at Hull Crown Court on Friday, 3 October 2025.
Shaun Hatfield, 49, of Easthorpe in Market Weighton, pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual contact with a minor and attempting to induce a minor to observe sexual activity between Wednesday, 29 March 2023, and Wednesday, 26 April 2023. He has received a term of one year and four months of incarceration, along with a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
An inquiry commenced on Wednesday, 29 March 2023, when Shaun Hatfield began utilising messaging applications to establish communication with a social media identity he presumed belonged to a 12-year-old girl.
During the subsequent 31 days, Shaun Hatfield transmitted a succession of sexually explicit messages and sought to incite the recipient to reciprocate with sexual contact. He also transmitted multiple obscene images and sexual movies of himself.
Unbeknownst to him, the profile was a ruse managed by an undercover officer, established to locate and apprehend individuals seeking to exploit children online.
Specialist teams conducted additional enquiries, including the study of digital data. The collected information was directly associated with Shaun Hatfield, leading investigators to find and apprehend him on suspicion of engaging in sexual communication with a minor in December 2023. His mobile phone was confiscated following his detention.
During his transport to detention for interrogation, a search of his premises resulted in the seizure of other electronic devices. These, along with his mobile phone, were analysed by our Digital Forensics Unit to reveal the social media interactions he had with a minor.
Following an extensive investigation involving various enquiries by our detectives, Shaun Hatfield was charged in August of this year with attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to induce a child to observe sexual activity.
Shaun Hatfield was remanded in custody until his subsequent appearance at Hull Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to both charges.
Detective Constable Demi Harvey from our Police Online Investigations Team led the investigation, stating: “Shaun Hatfield is a depraved individual who attempted to exploit what he perceived to be a vulnerable child and engaged in calculated online dialogues to satisfy his own perverse sexual desires.”
“Thankfully, no child was harmed as Hatfield was talking to a decoy social media account, and I am pleased he is now behind bars and facing the consequences of his disturbing behaviour.
“I’d like to commend the dedication and professionalism of our undercover officers, whose efforts play a vital role in protecting children and bringing offenders to justice.
“We take reports of sexual offences extremely seriously and we will continue to do everything we can to bring offenders before the courts.’’
If you have any information or concerns about this kind of offending, please call our non-emergency number 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.
You can also report information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
If you or anyone you know has been affected by the people highlighted on this website, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report to Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.