EDWARD DURLIK SENTENCED IN WOKING FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES AND ONLINE ABUSE

A man from Woking has been handed a lengthy prison sentence after being found guilty of committing a series of heinous online sexual offences involving three young girls aged between eight and 14 years old.

Edward Durlik, aged 41 and born on January 8, 1983, was convicted of creating multiple fake online profiles with the sinister intent of gaining the trust of vulnerable minors. Over a period of time, he adopted various online personas, including an 11-year-old girl, a 13-year-old boy, and a 13-year-old girl. To lend credibility to these false identities, Durlik even used photographs of a child known to him, further complicating the case and highlighting his manipulative tactics.

His interactions with the victims were calculated and disturbing. In one instance, he devised a points-based game where he challenged a girl to send him photographs throughout the day. The scoring system rewarded images based on their sexual explicitness, with more graphic images earning higher points. When a victim attempted to cease communication, Durlik employed guilt-tripping and blame-shifting tactics to coerce her into sending more images, demonstrating a pattern of psychological manipulation and coercion.

The police investigation was triggered when a father discovered sexualised messages, images, and videos on his daughter’s phone. This discovery led to a detailed forensic examination of Durlik’s phone, which revealed a disturbing collection of indecent images. Authorities found a total of 1,055 such images, including 258 classified as Category A, the most severe category, along with 296 Category B images and 501 Category C images. Further investigation uncovered that Durlik had distributed 471 indecent images and videos to 39 different online users, indicating a significant level of online sharing and distribution.

On April 29, 2024, Durlik was formally charged with multiple serious offences. These included five counts of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity, covering 11 separate incidents. He was also charged with causing or inciting a girl under 16 to engage in penetrative sexual activity on more than two occasions, as well as causing or inciting a girl under 13 to participate in non-penetrative sexual acts on two occasions. Additional charges involved causing a child under 13 to view sexual images on more than five occasions, encouraging the distribution of indecent images on eight occasions, engaging in sexual communication with a child, and making and distributing indecent images or pseudo-photos of children.

During the sentencing hearing held on Friday, February 14 at Guildford Crown Court, His Honour Judge Sellers described Durlik as a “dangerous” individual. The judge emphasized the sustained, premeditated, and manipulative nature of Durlik’s offending, which demonstrated a clear risk to the public. As a result, the court ordered that Durlik serve an additional three years on extended licence. Furthermore, he was issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, a Deprivation Order, and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life, ensuring ongoing monitoring and restrictions to prevent further harm.