April 2022 Seedy Hull man searched for sickening images of kids just a month after he was spared prison A seedy sex offender started searching for sickening images of child pornography just a month after being spared prison for having “very lewd” sexualised online chats with a decoy 12-year-old girl. Devious and sneaky Anthony Press tried desperately to cover up what he was doing by deleting his internet search history but he was caught out when police made checks on his activities and discovered what he was secretly doing. It was a “deliberate” breach of the “golden opportunity” that he had been given to turn over a new leaf and change his ways, Hull Crown Court heard. Press, 40, of Wentworth Way, Hull, admitted breaching a sexual harm prevention order and failing to register his details as a sex offender. Stephen Welch, prosecuting, said that in March 2019, Press was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence at Hull Crown Court for attempting to communicate sexually with a child.  He repeatedly contacted a fake 12-year-old girl, who told him her supposed age, and he used “very lewd language” to her in their messages. Within a month of being given the suspended sentence, Press was searching on the internet for indecent images of children. A detective asked to look at his phone as part of monitoring on April 2, 2019 but there was no search history on it and Press claimed that he had to reset it and lost the internet history. This was in breach of a court order which banned him from deleting his internet history. He had searched for “teen brunette f****d” in the early hours of that morning but claimed that it was “just out of boredom”. On January 31, 2020, the detective went to the home of Press, who was very nervous throughout the visit. There were no indecent images of children on his computer equipment but search records suggested that he had been seeking such images. Settings put in place erased data after the internet was exited. “This was a very serious breach,” said Mr Welch. “The defendant accepts that it was done deliberately to avoid detection on downloading indecent images of children. All of that which he was seeking for was going to be illegal.” Press should have gone to the police to update and confirm his details on September 13, 2020 but he did not do so until September 23 – 10 days late. Hannah Turner, mitigating, said that, apart from these incidents, Press had fully complied with the terms of the suspended sentence and had increased insight into his behaviour and the impact that it had on others. “It’s obviously a deliberate breach,” said Miss Turner. “We don’t know what actual material was accessed. We have just the search terms. “There is no hiding from the fact that this offence occurred within a month of that suspended sentence being imposed. He feels embarrassed and ashamed in respect of what he has done.” Press had medical difficulties and walked with the assistance of a walking stick. Judge John Thackray QC told Press: “The court gave you a golden opportunity to rehabilitate yourself. Within a month of receiving that golden opportunity, you were committing these serious offences. “You were doing your best to find indecent images of children and to hide the fact that you were looking for indecent images of children. Indecent images of children and those who attempt to obtain them fuel child sexual abuse and untold suffering and harm to the children who are abused, photographed and videoed, at or from a young age, often with adverse consequences for them. “I am not satisfied that your risk can be managed in the community or that you can be rehabilitated in the community.” Press was jailed for one year. The sentence included a consecutive four months after part of the original suspended sentence was activated. March 2019 Pervert sends sick messages to ‘girl’ – but finds out it’s someone very different A paedophile who thought he was making lurid suggestions to a 12-year-old girl was actually talking online to an undercover police officer. Anthony Press, 37, was already under investigation for doing the same thing to another “decoy” when he took part in the online chats for 15 days from June 13 last year. Stephen Robinson, prosecuting, told Hull Crown Court the officer had created a profile for a fictitious 12-year-old called “Emma”, who used the online name “Yorkshirelass123”. Press, whose online identity was “Anthony1981”, initiated the contact and asked the girl: “Can I get your pants down, honey?” The “girl” stated her age, but Press continued making a variety of other more extreme sexual comments, also suggesting they meet “on Friday or Saturday”. Press gave the girl his mobile phone number, which revealed his links to a care centre where he had “sought some assistance”, and also showed it had been used close to his home in Trippet Street, city centre. Police duly paid him a visit there on July 9 and arrested him. Mr Robinson said while Press believed he was in conversation with a 12-year-old girl, “in fact it was an undercover police officer”. That brought an end to his offending, following his similar encounter with “Chantelle Manchester” in January, who was really a member of the paedophile hunting group Northern Justice posing as a girl aged 13. Mr Robinson said of the group: “They appear to take a fairly serious interest in their hobby.” The group followed a practice of creating a decoy profile and ensuring first contact is made by the suspect. They then respond with answers “designed to be as innocent or naive as possible”, while regularly stating their age. “Chantelle” was lying in wait for Press on the chat site Nearby, and he first contacted her at 3am on January 18. Press requested a meeting in Manchester, where she purported to be from, and said he “would ring when he arrived”. But he failed to turn up, saying he was “unwell”. The girl’s number was later found on a piece of paper in Press’s flat, the court heard. Press also made explicit comments about what he would like to do to the girl, and also said he would like to watch her urinate. Northern Justice passed Press’s information to a similar Hull-based group called Team Hunters. A decoy from another team called ‘Net Justice’ was also contacted by Press Mr Robinson said the Hull group would normally confront people like Press and stream it live on Facebook, but after learning he had cerebral palsy decided instead to pass his details to police, which the prosecutor said was “a more responsible attitude”. Press was arrested for that offence in a taxi close to his home at 1.30pm on January 21. He initially denied any wrongdoing but later admitted two offences of attempted sexual communication with a child. He had no previous convictions. Recorder Simon Eckersley told Press his behaviour was “disgraceful”, and sentenced him to 18 months in jail, suspended for two years. He was ordered to attend a sex offenders treatment programme for 90 days and have 15 days of rehabilitation. Press was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years and must register as a sex offender for the same period.