Convicted paedophile sent sexual messages to who he thought was 12-year-old girl (original) (raw)

A convicted paedophile made sexual comments to who he thought was a 12-year-old after he had been made subject to a court order. He asked the decoy for pictures and said he was naked during their conversations.

Christopher Strong, 38, of Aberdare, was given a suspended sentence of eight-months imprisonment in 2022 after he was convicted of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. As a result he was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and sex offender notification requirements.

A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday heard the defendant breached the order after communicating with a social media account he believed to belong to a 12-year-old girl called Lily. He was actually talking to a decoy run by an "undercover operative".

The defendant's communications became sexual in nature, and asked the decoy if her parents checked her phone, talked about rubbing himself and asked her if she wanted to watch him rubbing himself. He asked the decoy for pictures of herself and told her he was naked.

Strong, of Nant Rowe, of Aberdare, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Sentencing, Judge Simon Mill said: "You are clearly a person with a sexual attraction to children. I find it absolutely staggering you'd go back to this sort of behaviour not long after completing the Horizon programme. You said you felt at a loss that it was not carrying on anymore. It just shows you were determined to offend."

The defendant was sentenced to 19 months' imprisonment. He was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements for seven years.

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