KENNETH CUNLIFFE FROM BOOTLE SENT SEX VIDEOS TO 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL ON SNAPCHAT

In September 2020, a disturbing case emerged involving Kenneth Cunliffe, a 39-year-old man from Bootle, who engaged in a series of inappropriate and illegal online communications with a young girl. Cunliffe, believing he was speaking to a 15-year-old, actually targeted a 12-year-old girl, bombarding her with explicit videos and images via Snapchat, a popular social media platform known for its disappearing messages.

According to court proceedings, Cunliffe first initiated contact with the girl in July 2018, initially through one of her friends. When the girl asked Cunliffe why he was communicating with her friend, she decided to block him. However, Cunliffe persisted and re-established contact with her later that September using a different Snapchat account. Their conversations quickly turned inappropriate, with Cunliffe asking her personal questions about her location and age.

During their exchanges, Cunliffe sent the girl a photograph of a location near her home, which caused her concern. When she told him she was 15, Cunliffe revealed that he was 37 and disclosed his residential address. The situation escalated as Cunliffe sent her between 10 to 15 explicit images of his genitalia and approximately five videos of himself performing sexual acts. He also asked if she wanted to meet up, but the girl declined, and their communication ceased in November 2018.

Further investigations revealed that Cunliffe had asked the girl for a photograph of his face, which she provided. She later showed her mother the image, prompting her mother to post it on Facebook. Cunliffe was subsequently arrested at his home on November 19, 2018. During police interviews, Cunliffe admitted to sending explicit images to young girls, expressing remorse and claiming he was not genuinely aroused by the conversations, despite earlier confessing to police that he was.

Police recovered the images that matched the victim’s descriptions from his mobile phone, but the Snapchat messages themselves could not be retrieved, as Snapchat automatically deletes messages after a short period. Cunliffe refused to comment during two police interviews.

He was charged with one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child and five counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. The girl’s mother described her daughter as suffering from severe social anxiety, fearing to go out or see anyone resembling Cunliffe. The girl was left frightened, struggling to concentrate on her schoolwork, and her mother expressed concern about her safety when walking to and from school.

Judge Woodhall sentenced Cunliffe to 18 months in prison, emphasizing that Cunliffe was aware his victim was a child and that he exposed her to inappropriate sexual material she should never have seen. The judge noted that the girl did not encourage Cunliffe’s actions and refused to send him any pictures of herself. Despite Cunliffe’s denial of being aroused by the conversations, the judge found his claims remarkable and stated that the evidence spoke for itself.

In addition to his prison sentence, Cunliffe was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register and comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years, reflecting the seriousness of his offenses and the ongoing risk he poses.