In 2021, a paedophile who attempted to meet with an individual whom he believed to be a 12-year-old boy was incarcerated.
Macauley Webb had been communicating with an undercover police officer who was assuming the identity of a 12-year-old boy on the dating and networking app Grindr and WhatsApp before he attempted to meet him.
The 24-year-old reportedly requested that the minor become his boyfriend and enquired as to whether he would kiss him at Cardiff Crown Court.
On May 14, 2019, Joshua Scouller, the prosecutor, stated that Webb liked a Grindr profile named “Welsh Romeo” and began communicating with the undercover police officer. The two subsequently exchanged phone numbers, and their conversation transitioned to WhatsApp.
A court heard that Webb was informed of the boy’s age at the outset of the conversation, that he was 12 years old and nearly 13.
Webb asked the boy to become his boyfriend, and whether he would kiss him, before being asked if they could perform oral sex on each other.
On May 18, Webb attempted to meet the minor in the car park of the Morrisons supermarket in Cwmbran. However, he was apprehended by the police, who confiscated his mobile phone.
Webb, a resident of Gaer Vale, Newport, acknowledged that he attempted to engage in sexual activity with a child and to meet a child after sexual grooming.
The court also learned that he has 11 prior convictions for 27 offences, including the possession of indecent images of children.
Judge Richard Williams informed Webb that the offence was a “serious escalation in your paedophilia.”
He stated, “I acknowledge that this was an attempt and that the child was a fictional character.” Although this mitigates the harm inflicted, it does not mitigate the harm that was intended. This is a significant escalation in your paedophilia.
You have been unsuccessful in addressing your sexual appetite or offending behaviour. You do carry a substantial danger of causing severe harm.
Webb was sentenced to an eight-year extended sentence, which consisted of a four-year custodial sentence and a four-year extended licence period.
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