Essex dad asked 14-year-old to be his girlfriend on Facebook

ESSEX DAD ASKED 14-YEAR-OLD TO BE HIS GIRLFRIEND ON FACEBOOK

A DAD who groomed what he thought was a 14-year-old girl after messaging her on Facebook was “desperately lonely” and in an unhappy marriage at the time, a court was told.

Andrew Bloomfield, 48, was living in Halstead when he messaged the decoy account and started pressuring her to send him naked pictures of herself and perform sexual acts.

The defendant, who is a married father-of-one, asked the teenager to be his girlfriend and tried to stop her from telling anyone about their conversations, Chelmsford Crown Court heard on Wednesday.

Bloomfield, who has since moved to Stowmarket, was given a two-year suspended sentence.

He was reported to have messaged a fake social media account run by a volunteer for the Saving Children’s Futures vigilante group.

Bloomfield then tried to arrange a meet-up with the girl before he was reported to the police and arrested at his address in front of his wife and child.

Mr Lewis said: “He was grooming her.

“He sought to prevent the victim from reporting these matters.” Bloomfield, previously of Parker Way, Halstead, but now of Verneuil Avenue, Stowmarket, admitted one count each of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to incite a girl to engage in sexual activity.

Hearing details during the sentencing, his solicitor Daniel Setter said the messages took place during a four-day period late last year, and no indecent images of children had been found on his devices.

He added that Mr Bloomfield is not attracted sexually to children but was “desperately lonely” and seeking company.

“On this occasion he went looking for that company and affection in the wrong place,” he said.

Mr Setter emphasized there was no victim and no genuine harm in this case, and Bloomfield has promised it will never happen again.

He also noted Bloomfield has not worked since he was 25 due to a serious brain haemorrhage and has no relationship with his wife, although they still live together.

Sentencing him to two years in prison, suspended for two years, Judge Jamie Sawyer said Bloomfield displayed “a worrying sense of justification” during his probation interview.

He was also ordered to serve a six-month curfew at his home from 9pm to 7am daily, registered as a sex offender for ten years, and subject to notification requirements for the same period.