Prison for Mansfield paedophile who groomed 11-year-old boy with gift tokens via his Playstation
A Mansfield paedophile who bribed a vulnerable 11-year-old boy with gift tokens to perform sexual acts via his Playstation has been jailed.
Christopher Collinge contacted the boy, who has been diagnosed with a range of complex needs, by posting a video saying: "You should follow me," in May 2022, Nottingham Crown Court was told.
Collinge suggested they use the Discord platform to chat about video games before asking: "Do you want to do some truth or dare to earn some gift tokens?"
At first he challenged the boy to do press ups and shout out of his window, but the challenges soon became sexual.
After telling the boy to take off his clothes and expose his penis, Collinge transferred a £20 gift card to spend on Playstation games.
And he gave the boy a £50 gift card for performing a sexual act for five minutes, adding: "You can’t tell anyone, ever."
The boy’s father noticed the transactions and asked what was going on and the victim told him.
The victim’s father described his son as “very vulnerable and easily manipulated” and said he continues to struggle with issues of trust as he considered the defendant to be a friend.
When Collinge was arrested in February 2023, 271 category A, 232 category B, and 145 category C indecent images and videos of children were found on his devices, along with one prohibited image of a child.
One of the videos depicted boys aged between eight and 12 being made to engage in penetrative sex, and another the rape of a girl, aged between six and eight, by an adult male.
Chris Brewin, mitigating, said Collinge, who has no previous convictions, began working with a therapist after his arrest.
"He is quite terrified about going into custody but he does accept what he has done is serious," he said.
Oh Thursday, Judge Stuart Rafferty KC told him: "What you did to that boy has scarred him for life. He thought you were a friend and you let him down."
Collinge, 33, of Clifton Place, Mansfield, admitted inciting the sexual exploitation of a child and possession of indecent images.
He received four years in prison and was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for ten years. A five-year sexual harm prevention order was also imposed.