In 2019, the Offender Database reported that Wayne Rumble, then 51, of Gordon Road, Horndon-on-the-Hill, Essex, was sentenced at Basildon Crown Court.
Wayne Rumble was jailed for two years after being caught in an undercover sting operation conducted by the paedophile hunting group Cobra UK. The court heard that Wayne Rumble used the social media platform Skout in July 2018 to target a profile he believed belonged to a 14-year-old girl named Zara Jones, eventually moving the conversation to WhatsApp to escalate his predatory behaviour.
The prosecution described how Wayne Rumble pressured the decoy to send naked images and perform sexual acts on herself. In an alarming move, Wayne Rumble sent the child a sickening line diagram that he had created to instruct her on exactly how to pleasure herself for his sexual gratification.
Following the final day of contact in August 2018, members of Cobra UK located Wayne Rumble’s address online and attended his home, where they contacted the police to facilitate his arrest. When interviewed by officers, Wayne Rumble maintained a “no comment” stance to all questions, despite the digital evidence of grooming and the significant age disparity between himself and the supposed victim.
Judge John Lodge noted that the instructional diagram and the persistent nature of the conversations over several weeks aggravated Wayne Rumble’s actions. Alongside his custodial sentence, Wayne Rumble was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years. He was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for a decade, effectively ending his sideline as a karate instructor.
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