DAVID WOOLSTON CAUGHT IN GREAT YARMOUTH BY PAEDOPHILE HUNTERS WHILE TRYING TO MEET TEEN GIRLS

In April 2019, a disturbing incident unfolded in Great Yarmouth involving a man named David Woolston, aged 57, who was apprehended by vigilant paedophile hunter groups. Woolston was actively engaged in online conversations with what he believed to be underage girls, specifically targeting individuals aged 13 and 14. Unbeknownst to him, these girls were actually members of various paedophile hunter organizations, who had set up fake profiles to catch potential offenders.

According to the prosecution, led by Lindsay Cox at Norwich Crown Court, Woolston had been communicating with a girl he thought was 14 years old from Newcastle. He had invited her to come and stay with him in Great Yarmouth, believing he was arranging a meeting with a minor. However, before any meeting could take place, Woolston was intercepted by another paedophile hunter group. This group had also created a fake profile, posing as a 14-year-old girl, and managed to locate Woolston in a car park in Caister, a nearby area.

Police were promptly called to the scene. When Woolston attempted to leave the area, he drove off but was later detained at a nearby service station. A subsequent examination of his mobile phone revealed that Woolston had been communicating with multiple fake profiles, including one set up by a different paedophile hunter group that pretended to be a 13-year-old girl. The investigation uncovered a pattern in his conversations, which involved inviting the girls to stay with him and requesting photographs of them in bikinis.

It was noted during the court proceedings that Woolston did not deceive about his online profile; he had sent genuine photographs of himself, indicating he did not use any subterfuge. Woolston, who lives in a van, admitted to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a minor. His online activity was driven by a sense of loneliness and social isolation, as highlighted by Danielle O’Donovan, who described him as a man with no offline social life.

Judge Stephen Holt sentenced Woolston to a three-month jail term, suspended for 18 months. Additionally, Woolston was placed on the sex offender register for seven years and was subject to a sexual harm prevention order. As part of his sentence, he was also ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid community service. The judge acknowledged that Woolston was caught through the efforts of three different paedophile hunter groups using fake profiles, but also emphasized that a report indicated there are opportunities for intervention to prevent future offending.