ALAN OAKSHOTT FROM DAREN JAILED FOR SEX OFFENCES IN DARWEN AND PRESTON

In September 2018, a man from Darwen named Alan Oakshott was sentenced to prison after admitting to multiple serious sex offences. The case was heard at Preston Crown Court, where Oakshott, aged 47 and residing on Blackburn Road in Darwen, received a significant custodial sentence.

Oakshott’s criminal activities came to light following his arrest in January of that year. Authorities uncovered that he had been sending sexually explicit messages to what he believed were underage girls, specifically targeting individuals he thought were between 12 and 14 years old. However, these girls were not real minors; they were adult members of online paedophile hunter groups who had posed as underage girls and subsequently alerted the police to Oakshott’s actions.

Investigations revealed that Oakshott had been engaging in this inappropriate communication over a period stretching from November 2017 to January 2018. The evidence presented to law enforcement included numerous messages he had sent during this timeframe, which demonstrated his intent to groom and exploit minors.

He faced multiple charges, including attempted grooming of a child, attempted sexual communication with a child, and attempts to cause a child under 13 to view sexual images. Additionally, he was charged with attempting to incite a child into sexual activity. Oakshott pleaded guilty to these charges, which reflected his acknowledgment of the serious nature of his conduct.

Further complicating his case, while he was held on remand, Oakshott was also charged with an additional offence related to a different incident involving a 15-year-old girl. This offence involved sexually explicit messages sent to her in October 2016, which he also admitted to and pleaded guilty to.

As a result of his convictions, Oakshott was sentenced to 28 months in prison. The court also ordered that he be placed on the sex offenders register for a period of ten years, underscoring the severity of his crimes and the ongoing monitoring required to protect the community from potential future offences.