DURHAM MAN KARL BANZYNIA SENTENCED AFTER FALLING FOR ONLINE CHILD PROTECTION STING

In July 2017, a Durham man was sentenced to prison after attempting to meet a girl he believed was 14 years old for sex, but was instead confronted by members of an online child protection group.

Karl Banzyni, 56, arranged the meeting within minutes of contacting what he thought was a teenage girl named ‘Ellie’ via a social media chat site. Durham Crown Court was told that upon discovering her supposed age, Banzyni still expressed intentions to engage sexually, telling ‘her’ he would teach her how to kiss and asking her not to wear a bra during the meeting so he could, as he allegedly said, “play with her t*ts”.

Less than two hours after their initial online contact, Banzyni traveled from his Durham home to a residential street in Gateshead just after 8pm on June 20. While sitting in his blue Skoda car at the location, he was approached by a member of the Guardians of the North group, who recognized him from a picture he had posted on ‘Ellie’.

Jane Waugh, prosecuting, explained that once Banzyni realized he had been caught in a sting, he reportedly said, “Okay, go ahead, arrest us.” Police were called, and upon their arrival, Banzyni told officers, “Okay, I’ll hold my hands up.”

He was detained, and during questioning, initially claimed he believed the person he was communicating with was “quite clearly over 16,” asserting he was just playing along with what he thought was an obvious setup. However, he eventually admitted that he had used social media to try to arrange meetings with young girls.

Banzyni, of Brackenfield Road, Framwellgate Moor, pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to meet a girl following sexual grooming.

The court was informed that Banzyni has a prior conviction for indecent assault against a five-year-old girl in 1984, for which he served three months in prison.

Sentencing, Recorder Atherton imposed a 15-month prison term, along with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and registration as a sex offender for ten years. The judge also ordered that Banzyni’s computer equipment, seized at the time of his arrest and currently undergoing police examination, may be forfeited.

The defendant requested that his name be obscured in reports of the case, but Recorder Atherton declined the request, stating that he did not believe it was appropriate to make such an order under the circumstances.