BARRY LESTER CAUGHT IN YORKSHIRE CHILD PREDATOR PLOT AT NEWCASTLE
Barry Lester, a 31-year-old former worker at a Next warehouse in West Yorkshire, found himself at the center of a serious criminal investigation after attempting to engage in a sexual encounter with a minor he believed was a teenage girl.Unbeknownst to Lester, the online profile he contacted was part of an undercover operation conducted by a hunter group specializing in catching online predators.
In October 2021, Lester initiated contact through the chat application MeetMe, where he began a conversation with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
The Leeds Crown Court heard that Lester quickly sought to escalate the conversation by requesting her phone number, aiming to move their dialogue to WhatsApp for more private communication.
From the outset, the girl explicitly stated her age, making it clear she was only 14.
Despite this, Lester's responses became increasingly inappropriate, as he turned the conversation sexual, inquiring if she knew