JOE LAW SENTENCED IN OXFORD FOR GROOMING ACTIVITIES IN BANBURY
A teenage man, Joe Law, age 22, engaged in abusive online behavior targeting underage girls.In 2018 and 2019, Law sent disturbing messages via Facebook to eight profiles he falsely claimed to be young girls.
However, at least five of these profiles were operated by members of paedophile hunter groups, posing as girls aged between 12 and 14 to catch potential predators.
Oxford Crown Court heard that Law persistently asked these girls for explicit pictures despite being told their true ages.
One girl told him she was at school, prompting him to reply: "Well, go to the toilet, then.
You won't get into trouble doing that.
Or do it after school when you're in your bedroom." In another exchange, a girl was asked for 'sexy pictures' and instructed to keep their conversations secret and delete the messages.
On April 5, 2019, members of the group Catching Online Predators (COP) conducted a sting operation at Law's home in Banbury.
Law was not home at the time, but his mother called the police after noticing strangers outside her house taking pictures and asking to speak with her son.
Law was later reported missing during this period.
Two days later, Law contacted West Mercia Police to confirm he was safe after seeing their appeal.
He then met officers in Hereford and was arrested related to the illicit chats.
Despite his arrest, conversations with at least one decoy Facebook profile continued.
During one exchange, he explained to the girl that he was in trouble because "there were individuals trying to make me go to prison" and claimed he had been warned about discussing the matter.
Even after this warning, Law continued to pursue communication, encouraging his conversation partner to send him a picture of her body and boasting about his height, saying he was "6ft 7ins tall".
Police recovered messages from his phone indicating he had also been speaking to four other girls aged 11 to 14, in addition to those associated with the vigilante group's profiles.
When interviewed by police, Law claimed he could not recall the Facebook interactions, stating he had been in a bad state at the time.
However, he acknowledged having the messages on his phone and admitted he could not deny the evidence.
Law, of Artizan Road in Northampton, pleaded guilty at the magistrates' court to charges including attempting to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and attempting sexual communication with a child.
He was sentenced to a three-year community order, placed under a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely, and required to register as a sex offender for five years.
