In 2021, Daniel Lees, a then 46-year-old man from Ellesmere, was sentenced following an investigation into illegal online sexual communications involving individuals he believed were children.
Daniel Lees, of Watergate Street, Ellesmere, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, two counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to cause a child to look at an image of sexual activity. The court heard that Lees initiated inappropriate digital conversations in May 2019 with a social media profile depicting a 14-year-old girl in Crosby, Merseyside. During the exchanges, Lees requested explicit photographs and transmitted an illicit image of himself over WhatsApp.
An examination of his electronic devices revealed prior online communications dating to 2015 and 2016 with an individual he believed to be a 13-year-old girl in the United States. Defence counsel noted that Lees admitted his offending during police interviews and entered early guilty pleas. Judge Neil Flewitt QC noted Lees was experiencing personal difficulties at the time of the offences, sentencing him on his birthday to a two-year prison term suspended for two years, alongside 240 hours of unpaid work and 30 days of rehabilitation activity.
In addition to his suspended custodial sentence, Lees was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
He was also made subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to ensure strict ongoing monitoring of his digital communications and internet access.
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