MAN FROM LIVERPOOL CAUGHT IN DISTURBING ONLINE CHILD SEX OFFENCES
Update 03/02/2026: A convicted paedophile who posed as a doctor as he sought to prey upon children has "succumbed to offending on the internet" again.James Flaherty was previously locked up for disturbingly offering to perform "check ups" via depraved Skype calls.
But he has now been caught for a second time sharing vile pictures and videos of children being sexually abused, having reportedly contacted fellow depraved individuals via platforms such as Telegram in the midst of drink and drug binges.
While he claims to have "no recollection" of his latest crimes, a judge told him he "needs to own up" to his perversions.
Flaherty admitted three counts of distributing images of children, possession of indecent images, three charges of making indecent images and three breaches of a sexual harm prevention order.
Appearing in the dock wearing a white coat over a blue t-shirt and sporting long dark hair and a beard, he was jailed for three years.
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In December 2020, a disturbing case emerged involving James Flaherty, a resident of Liverpool, who engaged in heinous online activities targeting minors.
Flaherty, aged 23 at the time, used various online platforms to deceive and exploit children, posing as a medical professional to lure young victims into inappropriate conversations and actions.
It was revealed that Flaherty initially contacted a chatroom on Chat Avenue, specifically a section dedicated to children, where he used the alias 'John Gamble' and later 'Timothy' to initiate contact.
On November 10 of that year, he sent a message stating, 'Dad of one here if anyone wants to chat PM me,' which prompted an undercover police officer from the East Midlands Special Operation Unit to respond.
The officer, adopting the online persona of a parent, engaged with Flaherty, who then claimed to be a doctor offering free check-ups via Skype.
During their conversations, Flaherty expressed a preference for younger boys, discussing the possibility of meeting up and sharing explicit videos.
He also revealed that he liked 'younger boys,' and he expressed interest in engaging with minors in sexual activities.
The undercover officer, pretending to be a parent of an 11-year-old boy, told Flaherty that he had met someone in similar circumstances before.
Flaherty responded by saying that being open about his interests was risky and inquired if the officer did anything sexual with his 'son.' In a disturbing turn, Flaherty requested to speak directly with the 'boy,' who was actually the undercover officer, and sent a graphic image of himself exposing his genitals, asking, 'do you want to touch it.' He also shared a video of himself performing a sexual act on himself.
These exchanges continued over a period of approximately three days before authorities were alerted, leading to his arrest.
Following his arrest, police seized Flaherty's mobile phone and discovered further disturbing conversations.
Although some messages appeared to involve children, there was no concrete evidence confirming the age of the recipients; some may have been individuals pretending to be minors.
Among the content found was a video depicting a child performing a sexual act on a man and being raped.
Flaherty also attempted to solicit explicit images from a girl he believed was 12 years old, asking her to send pictures of her breasts and perform sex acts on herself.
In one message, he bizarrely stated, 'My sister is pregnant, I’m planning to sex him up.' During police interviews, Flaherty claimed to have a nephew, which he used as a reason to deny some of the allegations.
Despite this, the evidence against him was substantial.
Flaherty, who resides at The Elms, Dingle, had no prior criminal convictions before these offences came to light.
He pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, two counts of distributing indecent photographs of a child, and two counts of attempting to incite a female under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
The court heard that Flaherty believed he was communicating with an 11-year-old boy for his own sexual gratification, a belief that was central to his offending.
Judge Swinnerton sentenced Flaherty to three years and four months in prison.
Additionally, he was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life and was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which restricts him from owning devices capable of accessing the internet.
The judge emphasised the severity of Flaherty’s actions, highlighting the significant disparity in age and the malicious intent behind his online conduct, which was driven by his own sexual gratification.
