Clipstone pervert who groomed 12-year-old girl said, ‘That doesn't matter,’ when told her age
A Clipstone pervert who groomed what he thought was a 12-year-old girl said, "That doesn't matter," when she told him her age, a court has heard.
In fact Adams Walters was chatting with a police decoy and claimed to be eight years younger in their Snapchat conversations between March 3 and April 16 last year.
Nottingham Crown Court heard he sent pictures of his exposed genitals to her, along with a video of him performing a sexual act.
He asked for a picture of her in her underwear and sent her a screenshot from a pornographic website.
Police arrested him on May 15 last year, and found Snapchat had been deleted from his phone, which aggravated his offending.
“What most troubles me about him is his denial of any sexual interest in young girls," said Judge Michael Auty KC on Tuesday, February 24. "This was enthusiastic and persistent engagement. While he remains in denial, repetition becomes more likely.”
Julia King, mitigating, said that however the decoy appeared in her profile picture, Walters accepted he knew she was 12 years old.
She said he was, and still is, in a long term relationship. He and his partner are having counselling and he has been open with his family.
His phone was searched and no indecent images of children were found. No other chats were detected and this was an isolated incident.
Ms King argued the custodial sentence could be suspended because of his guilty plea and previous good character, and said the offences were less serious as they were committed against a decoy.
Walters, aged 36, of Waterfield Way, Clipstone, admitted attempted sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child under 13 to watch an image of sexual activity, when he appeared at Nottingham Magistrates Court, in October, last year.
“You need to understand how seriously the public treats the welfare and protection of children, and rightly so,” the judge told him.
“Courts have an enduring and fundamental duty to protect the vulnerable and there can be no one more vulnerable than a young girl in early adolescence.”
Walters was sentenced to 12 months, suspended for two years, with 100 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation days.
“If you repeat this behaviour there can be no further chance,” the judge warned him.