In February 2019, the Offender Database reported that Paul Day, then 58, of New Road, Woodwalton, near Huntingdon, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison at Cambridge Crown Court. Day was caught in a proactive police sting operation after he attempted to groom a child for sexual activity online.
The court heard that between October and November 2018, Day used a pseudonym on the messaging app Kik to target what he believed was a 12-year-old girl. Unknown to him, the “girl” was actually an undercover officer from the Cambridgeshire Constabulary. Day sent a series of sexually inappropriate messages and attempted to coordinate a physical meeting in Leeds, even asking for the name of the child’s school to facilitate his predatory intent.
Following his arrest, a forensic search of Day’s home uncovered a tablet computer containing 21 indecent images of children. Five of these were classified as Category A—the most severe and disturbing level of child abuse material. Day pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, trying to cause a child to view sexual images, and three counts of making (downloading) indecent photos of a child.
During the sentencing on February 14, 2019, the prosecution highlighted the persistent nature of Day’s communications and the risk he posed to the public. The judge at Cambridge Crown Court emphasised that the custodial sentence reflected the gravity of targeting a child under the age of 13.
Paul Day was sentenced to two years and four months in prison. As a result of his convictions, he was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for 10 years, which imposes strict, legally enforceable restrictions on his use of the internet and his contact with minors.
A day is required to sign the Sex Offenders Register for a period of 10 years. He is managed under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) in the Huntingdon and Cambridgeshire area. This ensures that upon his release, police and probation services will conduct ongoing monitoring of his residence and digital devices to prevent him from re-entering the grooming cycle or accessing illicit material.
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