Sutton pervert pretended to be ‘lonely soldier’ when grooming 12-year-old girls

Stewart Yapp told one of the girls he liked her body and asked to see her bottom and remove her shorts, said Ben Payne, prosecuting.

He asked a second girl, “Would you like to chat with a lonely soldier?” and said he was “flattered” when she agreed.

He called her his “little princess,” added kisses at the end of his messages, and claimed he was serving in the army on a military base but couldn't send pictures of himself for security reasons.

He called a third girl “babe”, sent compliments, and asked if she was wearing anything under the jumper because it would be "sexy."

In fact, Yapp, aged 47, had been communicating with three law enforcement operatives who were posing as 12 and 13-year-old girls on the ChatIB and ChatIW forums, in March and July of 2023 and January 2024.

Helen Newman, mitigating, said Yapp was fully cooperative with police and made early guilty pleas.

His IT job requires security clearance, she said, and he is addressing issues after serving in the army for 13 years with deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Gulf.

“He went online wanting interaction,” she said. “He accepts he should have stopped when he found out the age of the profiles.”

She said he has been working with a therapist and is ashamed and remorseful.

"He has taken steps to rehabilitate himself,” Ms Newman added. “His family are quite appalled but remain supportive.”

Yapp, of Church Hill , Sutton, admitted three counts of attempted sexual communication with a child, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on October 29.

Sentencing was adjourned until Tuesday when he received a three-year community order and was told to participate in an accredited programme.

He must also sign the sex offenders register for five years and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order which forbids him from deleting or hiding his internet history.

He was fined £500 and was ordered to pay a £114 victim surcharge and £85 costs