DARREN FLETCHER CAUGHT IN FLEETWOOD: CONVICTED PAEDOPHILE SENTENCED AFTER ONLINE PREDATION AND POLICE CHASE

In August 2018, Darren John Fletcher, a 50-year-old resident of Shakespeare Road in Fleetwood, was brought before Preston Crown Court to face serious allegations related to his online activities and previous criminal history. Fletcher pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including two counts of attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child and two counts of attempting to communicate sexually with a child. The court was informed that Fletcher had initiated contact with an online profile he believed belonged to a 12-year-old girl. Without hesitation, he sent a series of explicit and sexual messages, demonstrating his intent to exploit the minor.

Unbeknownst to Fletcher, the profile he contacted was not operated by a real child but was a decoy set up by an online child protection team. These teams, often composed of dedicated paedophile hunters, pose as minors to catch predators attempting to engage in illegal activities. During the investigation, members of the group known as The Guardian Angels confronted Fletcher, questioning him about his online conduct. Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, they promptly contacted the police, leading to Fletcher’s arrest.

Following his arrest, Fletcher was sentenced to a total of 63 months in prison. However, because the sentences for his individual charges were ordered to run concurrently, he received a combined imprisonment term of 27 months. Additionally, Fletcher was subjected to a sexual harm prevention order that will remain in effect for ten years, and he was mandated to register as a sex offender, ensuring ongoing monitoring of his activities.

Fletcher’s criminal history is extensive. In 2009, he was previously jailed for three years after admitting to twelve sex offences, which included seven sexual assaults, four charges of sexual activity with a child, and one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. These offences were committed against four young girls and spanned from March 2005 to August 2008.

Further back in his criminal record, Fletcher was also involved in a high-profile incident in May 2009. He was captured on camera thanking Christchurch police officers for their assistance during the birth of his child, a girl who was not biologically his. The incident occurred when Fletcher was on his way to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, where his pregnant partner was in labor. The police officers, alerted by a photograph of Fletcher in the Daily Echo, tracked him down over 200 miles away in Christchurch. During the incident, a civil detention officer, with the help of three police constables, delivered the baby in the back of a police vehicle. Fletcher later returned to the Barrack Road police station to thank the officers for their help.

It was later revealed by Dorset Police that they were unaware Fletcher was wanted by Lancashire authorities at the time. Fletcher, who was residing in Christchurch, was subsequently arrested by Lancashire detectives. During his court appearance at Preston Crown Court, Fletcher admitted to twelve sex offences, which included sexual assaults, sexual activity with minors, and inciting children to engage in sexual acts. The offences spanned several years and involved four young girls, with some crimes committed in Preston, where Fletcher was living at the time.