Southend man jailed for child sexual offences after grooming undercover police

A man from Southend, named Christopher Stuckey and aged 59, received a custodial sentence after being caught attempting to engage in sexual conversations with a minor and planning child abuse. Stuckey believed he was communicating over four days in June of the previous year with a girl who was 13 years old, and he also thought he was corresponding with the aunt of another young girl. Over a span of three months, he discussed plans to sexually assault an eight-year-old girl while talking to undercover police officers who impersonated potential victims. During the court hearing at Basildon Crown Court, it was revealed that Stuckey sent inappropriate messages and images to an officer pretending to be the child's aunt, openly expressing his intent to commit serious sexual offenses. When he thought he was chatting with the 13-year-old girl, he sent explicit messages and asked for photographs, including one of himself. His arrest came in July at his Prospect Road home, following an investigation by Essex Police’s Online Investigation Team, which confiscated several mobile devices linking him to the offenses. In police interviews, Stuckey refused to comment but later confessed to numerous charges, including attempting to facilitate a child sexual offense from April to June 2024, engaging in sexual communication with a minor, and possessing and sharing indecent images of children categorized as A, B, and C. On June 12, he was sentenced to seven years in prison, with an additional five years under extended supervision. He was also ordered to comply with a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and registered as a sex offender for life.