CRAIG HOOTON CAUGHT IN LEEDS ONLINE SEXUAL PREDATION SCHEME
In a disturbing case that highlights the dangers of online predators, Craig Hooton, a 58-year-old man from Leeds, was caught engaging in inappropriate and illegal communications with a person he believed to be a 12-year-old girl.The incident unfolded in October 2018 when an undercover police officer from South Wales Police was operating a fake profile on Lycos Chat, posing as a young girl to catch potential offenders.
Between October 9 and October 25, 2018, Hooton initiated and maintained a series of conversations with the undercover officer, who was pretending to be a 12-year-old girl.
During these exchanges, Hooton repeatedly used terms such as 'girl' and 'babe,' and expressed a desire to sit on her knee, indicating a clear sexual interest.
The prosecutor, Holly Clegg, detailed that the officer responded to Hooton’s initial message on October 10, 2018, which simply said, “Hi babe.” The conversations quickly took a disturbing turn as the decoy revealed that she had been suspended from school for causing damage.
The discussion then shifted to clothing, with Hooton making inappropriate comments, including, “I would love you to be sat on my knee in those.” The Leeds Crown Court heard that Hooton explicitly asked the 'girl' to perform a sexual act on herself.
At one point, he left the chatroom, claiming he was going to perform a sexual act on himself.
Despite leaving the chat, Hooton later reconnected and sent a message saying, “Hi babe, how are you?” However, the officer did not respond to this message.
Authorities tracked his IP address to his residence on Canada Crescent, Rawdon, leading to his swift arrest.
During police interviews, Hooton largely remained silent, apart from admitting that he used Lycos Chat.
He was uncertain whether he had used the same usernames as the profile that messaged the decoy.
Hooton’s case was not brought to court until April of the following year.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to attempting to cause a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.
The court sentenced him to a community order, which includes a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
Additionally, Hooton was subject to a five-year sexual harm prevention order and was placed on the sex offender register for five years, marking a significant step in safeguarding against future offenses.
