GRAEME DENTON FROM PETERBOROUGH SENTENCED FOR ONLINE GROOMING AND SEX OFFENCES
In June 2025, Graeme Denton, a known sex offender from Peterborough, was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of serious online grooming offences involving a decoy under-age girl.The court also imposed an extended licence period of two years upon his release, reflecting the high risk he poses to children.
The case was heard at Lincoln Crown Court, where it was revealed that Denton, aged 46, had engaged in a disturbing series of online communications with a profile claiming to be a 12-year-old girl named ‘Tiff Jones’.
This profile was not genuine but was managed by an online child safety organization, designed to catch predators.
Despite this, Denton exchanged hundreds of messages with the decoy, during which he made alarming offers and suggestions.
Prosecutor Phil Howes detailed that Denton had offered to pay the girl £50 in exchange for a photograph of herself.
He also encouraged her to meet him at a railway station, with the sinister intent of engaging in sexual activity.
Furthermore, Denton urged the decoy to touch herself, demonstrating a clear intent to exploit a minor for sexual gratification.
It was also disclosed that Denton was a registered sex offender, having previously been sentenced to 28 months’ imprisonment at Norwich Crown Court in 2018 for similar offences.
Following that conviction, he was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
In October 2024, police executed a search at Denton’s residence on Wyberton Low Road, Boston, where they discovered a mobile phone that Denton had failed to disclose during his legal obligations.
During police interviews, Denton denied any intention of meeting the decoy girl in person.
He pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including two counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, one count of attempting to breach the order, two counts of attempting to incite a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one count of attempting to arrange a sexual offence.
All these offences took place between August 2023 and October 2024.
During the sentencing hearing, defense lawyer Stuart Lody emphasized that Denton had not actually met the decoy in real life and had shown remorse by pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity.
Lody also pointed out that Denton’s offences had not involved actual children but were limited to online interactions, suggesting he might be receptive to treatment.
However, Judge Simon Hirst was unequivocal in his assessment, stating that the probation service had classified Denton as a ‘high risk’ to children.
The judge confirmed that Denton’s actions demonstrated a significant danger to the safety of minors, leading to the six-year custodial sentence and the additional two-year extended licence period.
It is noteworthy that Denton’s criminal history includes an incident in February 2018, when he was caught by paedophile hunters after grooming what he believed to be a child online.
At Norwich Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual communication with minors, believing the profiles he interacted with belonged to schoolgirls.
These profiles were actually decoy accounts operated by the paedophile hunting team ‘Keeping Kids Safe’.
For this, Denton was sentenced to 28 months in prison, and he was placed on the sex offenders register for ten years along with a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
