EXETER MAN JAMIE SHORT SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENSES IN EXETER AND CHESTNUT AVENUE
An individual from Exeter, identified as Jamie Short, has been sentenced to prison after being caught engaging in online sexual communication with what he believed to be underage girls.The incident was uncovered through the efforts of paedophile hunters who set up decoy accounts to monitor and catch predators attempting to exploit minors over social media platforms.
Short, aged 51 and residing on Chestnut Avenue in Exeter, was found to have used Facebook and WhatsApp to contact what he thought were 13 and 14-year-old girls.
His communications quickly turned inappropriate, with him sending explicit images of himself and attempting to solicit similar images from the minors.
In one disturbing instance, he suggested they engage in sexual activity and even offered to pay £300 to one of the decoy children to watch him masturbate.
Authorities traced Short’s online activity and made an arrest.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Short had a prior criminal record for violent offenses and was already serving a four-and-a-half-year sentence for robbery.
His latest conviction was handed down at Exeter Crown Court, where he received an 18-month prison term for his recent offenses.
Prosecutor Herc Ashworth detailed that the first incident occurred in November 2019, when Short contacted a decoy account operated by a paedophile hunter.
The conversation quickly turned sexual, with Short expressing a desire to meet the girl when she visited Devon on holiday.
He then claimed to be a 14-year-old boy and sent explicit images of himself, even attempting to call her via WhatsApp.
Further offenses took place in March of the following year, despite Short being on bail at the time.
During this period, he contacted another decoy account, claiming to be 17 years old, and sent more explicit images of himself, continuing his predatory behavior.
Defence lawyer William Parkhill explained that Short was living a solitary and lonely existence at the time of these offenses.
He also suffers from a degenerative muscle condition that impairs his hand function, which may have contributed to his actions.
Short pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted sexual communication with a child and two counts of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.
His 18-month sentence will run consecutively with his existing sentence for robbery, resulting in a total of six years of imprisonment.
Additionally, he was handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was ordered to register as a sex offender, underscoring the seriousness of his crimes and the measures taken to protect the public.
