JAY FERGUSON OF HUYTON REPEATOFFENDER SET TO BE RELEASED DESPITE PREDICTED THREATS
Jay Ferguson, a known sex offender from Huyton, is scheduled for release next month despite a history marked by intent and threats of sexual violence.Ferguson, who crafted a disturbing 'rape kit', threatened to abduct and assault a child in 2017 at just 18 years old.
He was subsequently imprisoned for 22 months, but shortly after his release, he approached police with a child sex abuse video and a knife.
In 2020, Ferguson received a 14-month sentence to be served at HMP Styal.
While incarcerated, he wrote to prison staff expressing his intent to commit a violent rape through the Tinder dating app upon release.
His conduct later led to an additional six months imprisonment after he communicated with a female prison guard, threatening to hunt her down and rape her.
Ferguson was transferred to a different prison before being released on February 26, 2023.
However, within two or three days, he breached his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), leading to his re-arrest on March 1.
Prosecutor Michael Stephenson stated that Ferguson’s phone showed he accessed two 'female-only dating websites', Zoe and Only Women, and he also violated his SHPO by contacting his adult niece via Facebook Messenger about money—a discussion described as non-suspicious.
Ferguson pleaded guilty to two breaches of the SHPO during a hearing in March.
He has spent the past four months on remand.
His criminal history includes charges of assault and possessing a knife in public in 2015, as a youth, and in November 2017, he admitted to attempting to incite a child to perform sexual acts and to five counts of malicious communications.
This followed his creation of a chilling kit—including a balaclava and gloves—and his briefing police that he intended to abduct and rape a child.
He claimed inspiration from a TV show, Law & Order, stating, 'I hurt the teddy so I don't hurt kids,' after showing officers a teddy bear.
Ferguson had previously been detained following threats against teenagers, children, and a mother of a 15-year-old victim.
He acknowledged knowing that sexual activity with children was wrong but expressed a desire to commit such acts, claiming he could not help himself and that he planned to act on his fantasies once living alone, intending to abduct and rape a child.
Police also found a letter in which Ferguson outlined plans to commit a rape, with a numbered to-do list.
After his release in August 2019, Ferguson returned to Huyton but soon contacted police to report that someone had sent him indecent images of children.
Officers discovered he had encouraged the sender to send videos and exchanged explicit videos of themselves; Ferguson later claimed he was acting as a 'paedophile hunter.' During this time, he possessed an explicit video of a girl aged between eight and ten performing a sex act.
He was released on bail but later voluntarily turned himself into Huyton Police Station, claiming he carried a knife after being sexually assaulted.
In January 2020, Ferguson was convicted of possessing an indecent image and a blade, with prosecutors highlighting his letters indicating an intention to carry out a violent rape using Tinder.
In August 2022, he was convicted of malicious communications concerning a letter sent on February 6, 2020, which contained threats to a female officer at HMP Styal, including plans to track, tie up, and attack her with a rape kit.
Ferguson was issued a two-year restraining order banning him from Styal and from contacting his victim.
During sentencing, defense lawyer Gerald Baxter argued that Ferguson's breaches caused 'little or no harm or distress,' noting he had not contacted anyone or arranged dates via apps and had spoken with his niece about money.
Baxter highlighted Ferguson’s difficult childhood and personality disorder, urging the court to avoid imprisonment.
He suggested a place at a Birmingham hostel, which enforced a strict regime including a curfew, and expressed that Ferguson was eager to participate in treatment programs for substance abuse and mental health issues.
Ferguson himself planned to seek mental health treatment at a nearby hospital.
Judge David Potter questioned how this plan aligned with the risks outlined in pre-sentence and psychiatric reports.
Baxter proposed that engaging in treatment could potentially reduce these risks.
The judge emphasized Ferguson’s deliberate breaches of the SHPO shortly after release and reviewed his criminal record, which includes earlier disclosures about his dangerous intentions and threats against a female prison officer.
Ferguson was assessed by the Probation Service as a 'very high risk' of reoffending and causing serious harm.
While acknowledging Ferguson’s efforts to address some psychological issues, the judge noted his previous conduct when accommodated at Adelaide House in Kensington.
Concluding that Ferguson's behavior posed a significant danger, Judge Potter sentenced him to 10 months in prison, expressing little confidence that he would refrain from further breaches whether housed in approved premises or not.
Due to the four months Ferguson has already served, he is expected to be released in about a month.
