HULL MAN JAILED FOR ATTEMPTED ONLINE CHILD SEXUAL OFFENSES
A predatory sex offender who believed he was exchanging highly sexualized online messages with a 12-year-old girl was shocked to discover it was actually an undercover police officer.
Lee Flaxman was previously spared prison in 2022 for making indecent images of children, but his luck ran out when new 'abhorrent' offenses were revealed at Hull Crown Court.
Flaxman, 33, from Euston Close, off Anlaby Road, Hull, admitted three counts of attempting to cause or incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity and one of attempting to breach a sexual harm prevention order, which occurred between August 28 and 30.
Prosecutor Michael Masson explained that Flaxman was given a one-year suspended sentence in January 2022 after police found 153 images of children, including some as young as four, across various categories, with 12 at the most serious level.
These offenses involved downloading indecent images, which led authorities to his home.
The latest offences occurred when undercover officers, posing as a 12-year-old girl, engaged Flaxman in sexualized conversations via Snapchat using a profile named 'Hull guy.' The defendant’s solicitor, Oliver Shipley, noted that the offenses were committed against a decoy and not a real girl, stating, 'There is no real victim to these offenses.' Judge Tahir Khan KC remarked on Flaxman engaging in these interactions over three days but acknowledged his honesty and responsibility.
The judge emphasized, 'You were engaging in this sexual contact over the course of three days.
You have been entirely open and honest in acting your responsibility for what you did.' He further added, 'There wasn't actually a child.
Had it been a child, the sentence would have been significantly higher.' Flaxman was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment and was also subjected to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
Court Outcome
Conviction and Sentencing Details
Sentenced
Detected legal outcome
added, 'There wasn't actually a child. Had it been a child, the sentence would have been significantly higher.' Flaxman was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment and was also subjected to an indefinite sexual harm prevent...
Court order
Flaxman, 33, from Euston Close, off Anlaby Road, Hull, admitted three counts of attempting to cause or incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity and one of attempting to breach a sexual harm prevention order, which occurred between August 28 and 30
Suspended sentence
Prosecutor Michael Masson explained that Flaxman was given a one-year suspended sentence in January 2022 after police found 153 images of children, including some as young as four, across various categories, with 12 at the most serious level
Prison sentence
three years and four months
Had it been a child, the sentence would have been significantly higher.' Flaxman was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment and was also subjected to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order
Court order
three years and four months
Had it been a child, the sentence would have been significantly higher.' Flaxman was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment and was also subjected to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order
