Caught off guard: Nine sex offenders discovered by undercover officers and vigilantes UK News

There are perhaps no criminals as reviled as those who commit sexual crimes against children.

The Internet and social media have undoubtedly facilitated the contact of these sick people with their victims. But it can also be a valuable tool for catching them.

Plainclothes police and vigilante groups set traps for unsuspecting paedophiles. This is often done via fake profiles and other methods.

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We’ve rounded up nine people who ended up in court after being caught in such online traps. Find out more about them and their heinous crimes below.

Colin Christensen

Chef Colin Christensen befriended what he thought were two 14-year-old girls and sent them illegal messages and a picture of his genitals. A court heard the profiles were run by a vigilante group called the Child Online Safety Team.

Christensen, a grandfather who lives with his mother, got in touch with a girl’s profile in January this year. Despite being told she was 14, the 55-year-old, who lied saying he was 36, asked for a picture of her in her school uniform, which been refused.

Christensen sent a picture of his penis, then later asked if she was offended or turned on by it. He also asked her to take a camera in the shower with her and made reference to her genitals.

Around the same time, Christensen made contact with the Facebook profile of someone claiming to be 14 years old. It was a profile run by the same vigilante group.

He again asked for a picture of her in school uniform. He asked her what she was wearing and then asked her sexual questions.

The court heard he said he couldn’t have sex with her unless she agreed and told her the first time might hurt. Despite his crimes, the chief walked free from the court.

Christensen, of Murton Lane, North Shields, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted sexual communication with a child during a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court in February.

Judge Robert Adams sentenced him to a nine-month suspended sentence for two years with sex offender registration and a sexual abuse prevention order for ten years.

Read the full story here.

Paul Mars

Pervert Paul March thought he was having sex conversations with an underage girl. He was actually talking to a male police officer.

At a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court in December, the court heard how March, 38, had asked the ‘girl’ to send him pictures.

He then said to her “you are beautiful baby” and “you are very cute baby”. He also asked what she was wearing and if she had any underwear.

March, of Front Street, Annfield Plain, County Durham, pleaded guilty to attempting to have sexual communication with a child and was sentenced to a three-year community order. He must also issue a sex offender treatment order and will be subject to a sex offender registration and sexual abuse prevention order for five years.

The offenses happened one day in February last year. His further attempts to restart the conversation were ignored.

Read the full story here.

Gordon Henzel

For years, Gordon Henzell’s sexual assaults on two girls aged 13 and 14 remained a secret. But a decade after the attack, victims finally worked up the courage to report him after reading that he had been caught by pedophile hunters.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Henzell grabbed the 13-year-old girl around the waist, kissed her neck and tried to kiss her lips, and told her she looked gorgeous. The “horrified” victim managed to get away from him.

In another attack, he grabbed a 14-year-old girl’s face and tried to kiss her on the lips. After each reading a Facebook post saying he was caught in an undercover operation, they decided to report what he had done to them.

Henzell, who tried to get his ex-wife to cover for him after his arrest, was jailed for two sexual assaults and perverting the course of justice.

The 54-year-old from Osborne Road, Jesmond, Newcastle, previously had a 2020 conviction for attempted sexual communication with a child. He pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and invasion of the course of justice and was jailed for 15 months.

He has also been ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register and will be subject to a Sexual Abuse Prevention Order, both of which are for ten years.

Read the full story here

Alan Mennie

Loner Alan Mennie believed he was communicating with 11 and 13 year olds via the internet. But he had actually been duped by Secret Whispers – an organization behind fake profiles set up to trap pedophiles.

The first conversation took place…