ALAN MENNIE OF HEBBURN JAILED IN NEWCASTLE FOR ATTEMPTING TO INDUCE CHILD TO SEXUAL ACTS
Alan Mennie, a resident of Hebburn, has been sentenced to over four years in prison for attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.Mennie, 42, was exposed online by paedophile hunters while engaging in sexually explicit chats with what he believed were two underage girls.
He thought he was communicating with girls aged 11 and 13, but was actually talking to fake profiles created by Secret Whispers, an organization that sets up false identities to catch paedophiles.
Mennie was sentenced to four years and one month at Newcastle Crown Court after admitting to two counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
Prosecutor Andrew Espley stated, 'This defendant engaged in sexual conversations with two separate people online, pretending to be children.' He added that penetrative sexual activity was discussed and confirmed that the profiles were fake.
The court heard that the first conversation occurred between October 2018 and April 2019, during which Mennie openly stated he was not concerned that the girl was only 13 and asked if she had been with an older man.
He invited her to his home and engaged in graphic sexual conversations.
The second chat, taking place from March to April 2019, involved Mennie believing the girl was only 11, with Mr.
Espley noting, 'Full sexual intercourse was discussed.' Mennie attempted to persuade both profiles to perform sex acts on themselves.
Alongside his prison sentence, Mennie, of Tharsis Road, Hebburn, South Tyneside, is subject to a sexual harm prevention order and will be required to register as a sex offender for life.
In sentencing remarks, Judge Spragg highlighted that Mennie has never lived with a partner and has only lived with his elderly mother, who is in her 80s and is described as 'socially isolated.' Nick Lane, defending, stated, 'He very much regrets the way he behaved and recognises the seriousness of his offending.' Mr.
Lane also explained that Mennie became withdrawn following the sudden death of his father when he was younger.
The court was told that Mennie held employment for several years after leaving school but later was unable to work due to anxiety and depression, for which he received counselling.
