CARL BENNETT FROM HAVERHILL SENT INDECENT IMAGES TO ONLINE PAEDOPHILE HUNTER IN SUFFOLK

In August 2021, a man from Haverhill named Carl Bennett was sentenced to prison after falling victim to an online paedophile hunter operation. Bennett believed he was communicating with a 13-year-old girl named Megan, but in reality, he was speaking with an undercover decoy from the group known as Innocent Voices.

During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that Bennett had sent explicit images of his erect penis to the decoy, who was posing as a teenage girl. The court heard that Bennett, aged 33 and residing at Feltwell Place in Haverhill, had been struggling with personal issues, including redundancy and relationship difficulties. These problems appeared to have driven him to seek validation through sexualized conversations with the decoy, which escalated over a period of four months.

The court was informed that Bennett initiated contact by sending a friend request to a fake Facebook profile on April 4, 2019. He falsely claimed to be 22 years old and quickly moved to request explicit photographs from the decoy. Prosecutor Richard Burrington detailed that Bennett not only asked for naked images but also sent explicit photos of himself masturbating. As the conversations progressed, Bennett made several attempts to persuade the decoy to meet him for sexual activity, suggesting various locations such as a hotel, a car, and a forest for the encounter.

Following a thorough investigation, Recorder Jeremy Benson sentenced Bennett to 28 months in prison. In addition to his jail term, Bennett will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order and is required to register as a sex offender for the next ten years. The case highlights the dangers of online predators and the importance of vigilance in protecting minors from exploitation.