An incarcerated paedophile at HMP Kirkham, Kevin Hardwick, utilised a contraband mobile phone to transmit sexual texts to a 12-year-old girl, as presented in court.
Kevin Hardwick, homeless, was communicating with the girl and at least one other decoy while impersonating a 14-year-old, including transmitting an image of a minor to fabricate his identity.
Police investigations uncovered a concealed mobile phone in his cell, which he utilised to search for his own name, as well as ‘social media for 11-year-olds’ and ‘social media and child grooming.’
After conferring with the Crown Prosecution Service, Kevin Hardwick was indicted for possession of a prohibited object in a prison, attempted sexual communication with a minor, sexual communication with a minor, and enticing a girl under 13 to participate in sexual activity, including penetration.
The 47-year-old, Kevin Hardwick, having pleaded guilty to the allegations, was sentenced last week to eight years and nine months and is now subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
In a Victim Impact Statement, the victim’s mother said: “To find out a fully grown man was posing as a young teenage boy is quite frankly vile. And to find out this man, Kevin Hardwick, was in a prison cell at the time made me sick to my stomach. How on earth was this male even able to have a phone in his cell?”
She continued: “We try not to hold her back through what has happened, but that feeling of dread of who or what she encounters in the wider world has been massively heightened and will stay with us forever because of this individual.”
DC Charlie Brown said: “Kevin Hardwick is a paedophile who lured a young girl into speaking to him by posing as someone who is a similar age.
“His actions are sickening – it was clear that he knew what he was doing and had researched what platforms were best to groom children online.
“I hope the custodial sentence can bring the victim and her family, who have shown incredible strength in this time, some sort of closure.
“If you have been a victim of a sexual offence, please know that we will listen to what you report, and investigate it thoroughly to do all we can to get you justice.”
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