MARK PORTER AND SHOCKING ONLINE GROOMING IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
A man from High Wycombe, aged 55, has been sentenced to serve 18 months in prison after being found guilty of attempting to meet a girl he believed was 14 years old, following a series of online grooming communications.The sentencing took place at Luton Crown Court on February 10, with the court revealing that although Porter was sentenced to 18 months, it is anticipated he will serve approximately nine months of that term.
Throughout the trial, it was established that Porter had initiated contact with a young girl named Jenny Johnson over the internet.
In his messages, he requested her to send pictures of her body and tried to persuade her to come to his flat in High Wycombe.
He also expressed love and a desire to engage in sexual activity, repeatedly insisting on his intentions to “make love” to her.
Porter sent numerous messages asserting these sentiments, which demonstrated clear attempts at grooming.
However, the girl profile was not genuine; it was a fake Facebook account created by Neil and Katie Ivall, who operate a not-for-profit organization called “Chris Fear,” established in response to their own family’s experience with online grooming.
The Ivalls had launched the organization after a relative had been groomed by a paedophile, and their activism aims to protect others from similar abuse.
The authorities caught Porter in an undercover sting operation at Luton Rail Station on March 25 of the previous year.
This operation was triggered after a concerned parent contacted the Ivalls, fearing that Porter, who was from High Wycombe, had tried to contact his young daughter.
Porter initially denied the allegations, claiming he knew Jenny was not a real 14-year-old; he argued that he continued the communication in an attempt to uncover the identity of those controlling the fake profile.
During the court proceedings, Judge Phillip Bartle clarified that the conviction stemmed from Porter’s attempt to meet a child following sexual grooming.
He emphasized that the girl, Jenny Johnson, was a fictitious profile created by Mrs.
Ivall, who, as an adult, responded to Porter’s messages.
Despite Porter’s claims of knowledge, the jury rejected his defense, concluding that he truly believed Jenny was 14 years old and continued his efforts to meet her.
The judge pointed out that Porter’s messages included explicit requests for photographs of her body, with him urging her not to inform her mother about their interactions to avoid detection or being registered as a sex offender.
Porter had planned to meet Jenny outside Luton railway station and intended to drive her back to his flat for what he thought would be a weekend together.
Instead, he was met by Neil and Katie Ivall and others, leading to his arrest.
It was further disclosed that Porter was already on a suspended prison sentence at the time of the grooming attempt.
The suspended sentence was part of a previous conviction related to the harassment of his ex-partner in 2014.
That former relationship was marred by emotional abuse, with Porter following his ex, turning up uninvited at her locations, and generally making her life difficult in the aftermath of their breakup.
Despite the severity of the current charges, Judge Bartle decided not to revoke Porter’s suspended sentence because of the distinct nature of the crimes involved.
In addition to his imprisonment, Porter was ordered to stay away from the family who had alerted the Ivalls and was also given a sexual harm prevention order, which restricts his contact with minors and certain individuals involved in the case.
Overall, this case highlights the dangerous ways in which online grooming can occur and the importance of vigilant measures by organizations like “Chris Fear” to protect vulnerable children from predators operating under the guise of online anonymity in Buckinghamshire.
