ALAN CHERRY, BOOTLE PAEDOPHILE, JAILED FOR ONLINE OFFENCES IN RAINHILL
A 64-year-old man from Bootle, Alan Cherry, who has a history of sexual offences against children, expressed in Facebook Live footage that only death could cure his sexual attraction to minors.Cherry, a former window cleaner from Akenside Court, has repeatedly been caught engaging in online chats with underage girls.
He has two prior convictions for sexual offences and served an eight-month sentence last year.
Recently, after more disturbing online conversations this summer, he was confronted outside his new residence at Holley Court, Rainhill.
Liverpool Crown Court was told that Cherry admitted to sending obscene messages to two girls he believed to be aged 12 and 13, stating: "I have a problem, there is no cure for me.
The only way I can be cured is if I'm not alive." His first known offence occurred in 2017, when he was caught having sexual chats with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl.
When his home was raided, officers found a collection of indecent images, including pictures of children as young as three.
In 2018, Cherry received a three-year community order with a requirement to attend a sex offenders treatment programme.
However, by October 2019, he was again online, this time using Kik Messenger to send explicit images of his genitals to a decoy profile of a 14-year-old girl created by paedophile hunters.
His online behaviour resulted in an eight-month prison sentence and a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) in March 2020.
In July this year, members of the group "Shatter the Silence" created a fake profile named Isla on the dating app Tagged, claiming she was 25.
When Cherry contacted her on July 27, he believed she was 13, and he asked questions about her body and sexual activities, including whether she had seen her father’s or boys’ genitals.
He asked to see her 'private bits' on camera and mentioned performing a sex act.
Subsequently, another member of "Shatter the Silence" set up a second decoy profile called Darcy, claiming she was 12.
Cherry began communicating with her on August 1, asking her about her knowledge of boys' 'willies' and her mother’s nudity.
Following this, "Shatter the Silence" enlisted the help of the Fleetwood Enforcers, another paedophile hunting group.
They tracked Cherry down on August 12 after broadcasting his confession on Facebook Live, leading to police arrest and interview.
Prosecutor Jamie Baxter stated that Cherry admitted he tried to stop himself but was unable to resist his urges.
During police interviews, Cherry acknowledged talking to someone he believed was 13.
His sex offender manager also confirmed that Cherry had admitted to engaging with a user who claimed to be 13.
Cherry pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and one count of breaching his SHPO.
His defence lawyer, Jonathan Keane, described him as "open and very honest" in a pre-sentence report, noting Cherry's loneliness and social isolation, having not had a partner in over 20 years.
Keane explained that instead of seeking help, Cherry continued his concerning behaviour but expressed remorse, stating he was "sorry" and "disgusted" by his actions.
Judge Heather Williams, QC, declined to read aloud the messages Cherry sent to the two alleged girls but remarked that they contained "overtly sexual messages that were wholly inappropriate" and could have caused significant harm if received by a real minor.
Addressing Cherry, the judge stated that during confrontation by paedophile hunters, he was candid about his sexual interests but showed no intention to change.
She further highlighted that in police interviews, Cherry admitted he could not stop himself.
The pre-sentence report quotes him as perpetuating offences to satisfy his own sexual needs despite understanding the damage caused to children.
Cherry was sentenced to three years and two months imprisonment.
The judge ordered that he must register as a sex offender and adhere to a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order, emphasizing: "It is because you have essentially said you will continue to behave in this way unless there is some impediment put in your path to stop it."
