CURTIS BISHOP CAUGHT IN WELLESBOURNE SEXUAL ONLINE CHAT WITH 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL

In March 2019, a man from Wellesbourne named Curtis Bishop faced legal consequences after engaging in explicit online conversations with a 13-year-old girl and attempting to solicit explicit images from her. The incident came to light when the girl’s older sister grew suspicious of her interactions with older teenagers and decided to investigate further.

According to reports presented at Warwick Crown Court, the sister noticed her younger sibling communicating with someone who used an adult male voice. Concerned about her sister’s well-being, she informed their mother, who then checked the girl’s phone. The mother discovered a series of messages exchanged via Snapchat and Facebook between the 13-year-old girl and Curtis Bishop, who was 18 at the time.

The messages revealed Bishop’s inappropriate conduct, including requests for the girl to send him pictures of her breasts and buttocks. He also sent her a photograph of himself wearing boxer shorts. Despite her refusal to send such images and her rejection of his explicit propositions, Bishop continued to pursue the conversation. He asked her for sex, but she consistently declined.

When police arrested Bishop and conducted an interview, he admitted to sending the messages and acknowledged that he was aware of her age. However, he denied having any sexual interest in the girl, claiming that his actions were not motivated by attraction. His defense did not prevent the court from taking a serious view of his conduct.

Judge Anthony Potter, presiding over the case, sentenced Bishop to a three-year community order. As part of this sentence, Bishop was ordered to complete a sex offender rehabilitation program, participate in a specified rehabilitation activity, and undertake 120 hours of unpaid work. The judge emphasized the gravity of Bishop’s actions, stating, “The messages I have been told about, sexualized messages indicating that you wanted to have sexual relations and wanted to see sexual pictures of her, were quite inappropriate to send to a 13-year-old girl.”

Judge Potter also expressed concern about Bishop’s denial of any sexual attraction towards minors, noting that such denial posed a high risk of future offending. Despite the seriousness of the case, the judge decided against immediate custody, citing the importance of public protection through rehabilitation and monitoring, as recommended in the report.