ANDREW SPRING GROOMS GIRLS IN GIRTON AND CAMBRIDGE, JAILED FOR SIX YEARS
| Red Rose Database
Girton Child Sexual Abuser
In December 2013, a man from Girton, named Andrew Spring, was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of grooming young girls over the internet. The court proceedings revealed a disturbing pattern of behavior involving Spring, who targeted girls as young as nine years old through online chatrooms and webcam interactions.
Spring, aged 38 and residing on St Vincent’s Close in Girton, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of causing children under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activities. The charges detailed his actions of grooming girls aged between nine and 15, encouraging them to perform sexual acts on webcam, and attempting to meet them in person at hotel locations for sexual encounters.
The investigation into Spring’s activities began in 2011 after authorities received a tip-off from a member of the public. Police officers visited his residence in October of that year to gather information. During the visit, they did not have a warrant, but Spring voluntarily allowed officers to seize his Dell computer for examination. The subsequent analysis uncovered a collection of indecent images and videos stored on his device.
Further evidence was uncovered during a police interview with Spring in March of the following year. Prosecutor Miss Blair explained that Spring had created several videos himself, which showed him performing sexual acts on himself in a split-screen format. These videos indicated that the children involved could see him during the recordings, raising serious concerns about the exploitation involved.
The videos were produced using a webcam and an application similar to Skype, with recordings dating from March 2010 to October 2011. Additionally, images on his computer traced back to June 2007, suggesting a long-standing pattern of offending behavior.
Miss Blair also highlighted that Spring maintained contact with one of the girls after initially communicating with her on a chatroom when she was just 14 years old. His interactions escalated to in-person visits, with the most recent occurring in March of the year he was interviewed by police, just two weeks prior to his arrest. This ongoing contact was described by the court as evidence of grooming activity.
Spring’s behavior extended to asking the girls to send him photographs of themselves and suggesting they meet at hotels for sexual activity. The court was told that his actions demonstrated a persistent pattern of predatory behavior over an extended period.
During sentencing, Miss Blair urged the judge, Gareth Hawkesworth, to consider the vulnerability of the victims, the repeated nature of the offenses, and the duration over which the crimes took place. The defense, represented by Melanie Benn, acknowledged Spring’s admission to searching for child pornography and taking responsibility for the images and videos found on his devices. Benn explained that Spring claimed to have been lonely and intoxicated at the time, seeking companionship regardless of the girls’ ages.
Ms. Benn also noted that Spring recognized the need to stop his behavior before police intervention, citing a specific incident involving two young girls around nine years old. Ultimately, Judge Hawkesworth sentenced Andrew Spring to six years in prison. Additionally, he ordered Spring to be placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely, reflecting the severity and ongoing risk associated with his actions.
Spring, aged 38 and residing on St Vincent’s Close in Girton, pleaded guilty to 11 counts of causing children under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activities. The charges detailed his actions of grooming girls aged between nine and 15, encouraging them to perform sexual acts on webcam, and attempting to meet them in person at hotel locations for sexual encounters.
The investigation into Spring’s activities began in 2011 after authorities received a tip-off from a member of the public. Police officers visited his residence in October of that year to gather information. During the visit, they did not have a warrant, but Spring voluntarily allowed officers to seize his Dell computer for examination. The subsequent analysis uncovered a collection of indecent images and videos stored on his device.
Further evidence was uncovered during a police interview with Spring in March of the following year. Prosecutor Miss Blair explained that Spring had created several videos himself, which showed him performing sexual acts on himself in a split-screen format. These videos indicated that the children involved could see him during the recordings, raising serious concerns about the exploitation involved.
The videos were produced using a webcam and an application similar to Skype, with recordings dating from March 2010 to October 2011. Additionally, images on his computer traced back to June 2007, suggesting a long-standing pattern of offending behavior.
Miss Blair also highlighted that Spring maintained contact with one of the girls after initially communicating with her on a chatroom when she was just 14 years old. His interactions escalated to in-person visits, with the most recent occurring in March of the year he was interviewed by police, just two weeks prior to his arrest. This ongoing contact was described by the court as evidence of grooming activity.
Spring’s behavior extended to asking the girls to send him photographs of themselves and suggesting they meet at hotels for sexual activity. The court was told that his actions demonstrated a persistent pattern of predatory behavior over an extended period.
During sentencing, Miss Blair urged the judge, Gareth Hawkesworth, to consider the vulnerability of the victims, the repeated nature of the offenses, and the duration over which the crimes took place. The defense, represented by Melanie Benn, acknowledged Spring’s admission to searching for child pornography and taking responsibility for the images and videos found on his devices. Benn explained that Spring claimed to have been lonely and intoxicated at the time, seeking companionship regardless of the girls’ ages.
Ms. Benn also noted that Spring recognized the need to stop his behavior before police intervention, citing a specific incident involving two young girls around nine years old. Ultimately, Judge Hawkesworth sentenced Andrew Spring to six years in prison. Additionally, he ordered Spring to be placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely, reflecting the severity and ongoing risk associated with his actions.