ADAM WILBY FROM HECKMONDWIKE JAILED FOR SEXUAL OFFENDING ON SCHOOLGIRLS IN LEEDS

In September 2017, Adam Wilby was sentenced to imprisonment after sending sexual messages to girls posing as minors online. Wilby was unaware that two of the three profiles he contacted were actually fake, created by the Guardians Of The North, an online child protection group.

Michael Morley, prosecuting, explained to Leeds Crown Court that Wilby’s offending began in November 2015 when he initiated contact with a genuine 13-year-old girl through Facebook. During their conversations, Wilby inquired if she was pretty, asked her not to tell her mother about their chats, questioned if she was a virgin, and about her underwear. At one point, he became aroused, asking if she wanted to lose her virginity. He also encouraged her to put her hand down her knickers and touch herself while talking lewdly.

The girl refused, expressing her discomfort and informing her mother about Wilby’s messages, leading to police involvement.

In August 2016, a vigilante group called Guardians of the North created a fake profile of a 13-year-old girl, to which Wilby sent a friend request. He claimed to be 25 and asked if she wanted to be his girlfriend. Wilby then pressed for personal details, requested a photo, and later said he wanted to have sex with her in her school uniform. He urged her to touch her breasts and even sent a picture of an erect penis. Additionally, he asked her to touch herself, and a plan was made to meet at a station in Newcastle. However, Wilby did not appear at the meeting. The Guardians tracked him to an address associated with adults with disabilities but chose not to confront him directly, instead passing the evidence to police.

Another fake profile, set up by a group in southern England posing as a 14-year-old girl, exchanged similar messages with Wilby between June and July 2017, in which he expressed a desire for her to touch him.

Wilby, now 26 and residing at Walkley Terrace, Heckmondwike, pleaded guilty to three charges of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one charge of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act. Deputy Circuit Judge James Spencer QC sentenced him to a total of 12 months in prison, acknowledging his developmental difficulties but emphasizing that "you need to be reminded this kind of activity is criminal."