Javed Iqbal, then aged 49, of Castleton Road, Birmingham, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment (60 months) at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, 27 August 2026, after travelling to Widnes to meet who he believed was a 14-year-old boy for sexual activity.
The prosecution followed an inquiry by Cheshire Police into online grooming activity that commenced on 28 August 2024.
The court heard that Iqbal began communicating online with an account he believed belonged to a 14-year-old child, which was in reality an adult decoy posing as a child.
During the communications, the decoy explicitly informed Iqbal that he was 14 years old.
Despite being aware of the stated age, Iqbal persisted with sexually explicit messages, transmitted an explicit image of himself, and repeatedly requested that the child provide images in return.
Iqbal subsequently arranged an in-person meeting with the child in Widnes and travelled from Birmingham to the town on 7 September 2024 with the intention of committing sexual abuse.
Cheshire Police officers were alerted to the arrangement and deployed to the location, arresting Iqbal immediately upon his arrival.
Although Iqbal attempted to deny the charges during interviews and trial, he was convicted of:
- Arranging the commission of an offence of sexual activity with a child
- Attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child
A police spokesperson confirmed that while no actual child was victimised, Iqbal was fully intent on meeting a child for sexual purposes and travelled a significant distance to do so.
The presiding judge sentenced Iqbal to five years’ imprisonment, made him subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), and ordered him to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Release Calculation: Under UK sentencing legislation governing sexual offences, Iqbal is required to serve two-thirds (40 months / 3 years and 4 months) of his 60-month sentence in prison custody before becoming eligible for statutory release on licence. His projected release date is December 2029, whereupon he will remain subject to licence conditions and statutory supervision in the community until the expiration of the full term in August 2031.
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