AMBULANCE WORKER SENTENCED FOR GROOMING TEEN BOY AND EXPLOITATION
Alex Stevens, aged 26, an ambulance worker, has been convicted of a series of heinous sexual offences involving a teenage boy.The court heard that Stevens exploited the boy by grooming him over WhatsApp and Snapchat, initiating sexual conversations and requesting explicit videos.
He drove the teen, then 13, to a location in Bootle for a depraved threesome with an unknown man referred to as 'Marco,' during which the boy felt 'dehumanised.' The abuse came to light when Stevens sent explicit images of the boy to a third man, who raised concerns with the police.
Prosecutor Louise McCloskey revealed that the victims and Stevens had previously discussed meeting for a threesome and that Stevens falsely claimed the boy was 15, attempting to hide the child's true age.
Upon police investigation, indecent images and videos linked to Stevens were discovered on his phone.
The teenager, who was identified in August, explained he began speaking with Stevens in April 2022 when he was 13, and that their chats turned sexual, including requests for videos of masturbation and exchanges of sexually explicit material involving other young men.
The court was told that Stevens later tried to delete incriminating images, but a screenshot was taken.
Stevens pleaded guilty to 10 sexual offences, including engaging in sexual activity with a child, making and distributing indecent images, and facilitating a child sex offence.
His victim expressed the emotional trauma suffered, and his mother described feeling devastated.
In sentencing, Judge Robert Trevor-Jones described Stevens as someone who was manipulating and exploiting a young boy he knew from school, starting from when he was 13.
The judge highlighted that Stevens had exhibited a high level of risk to children and was in denial about his own interests.
He was sentenced to six years in prison, ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life, and subjected to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a 10-year restraining order.
The judge remarked that due to his age, the length of the sentence, and the additional orders, an extended sentence was not deemed necessary.
Stevens showed no emotional reaction as he was detained after sentencing.
