August 2020 Dangerous Gloucester paedophile jailed for abusing girls and downloading vile images Predatory paedophile Mark Taylor has been sentenced to ten years imprisonment – with an extended four year period of parole after his release. Gloucester Crown Court heard that Taylor, of Manor Park, Longlevens, Gloucester had been offending over a five year period, downloading numerous sexual images of young children from the age of three to 15 and then grooming and abusing three young teenagers. The jail term imposed on 49-year-old Taylor yesterday was not his first – in June 2018 he had received a two year sentence at Cardiff Crown Court after being caught by paedophile hunters who set an online trap for him. Mary Cowe, prosecuting the latest offences yesterday, said in each instance he had groomed his victims before sexually abusing them. At the point of his arrest there were more than 1000 indecent images on his phone and devices. A pre-sentence report on Taylor from the probation service described him as “deceitful and manipulative” and said: “Taylor’s behaviour is predatory and persistent; he has repeatedly been able to establish relationships with young girls by grooming them via internet chat rooms.” Judge Ian Lawrie QC disagreed and said: “He is a man in denial. It is quite clear that there are issues that need addressing. He fails to comply with any court order and makes little effort to help himself.” Taylor pleaded guilty to 14 offences, including taking indecent photos and videos of girls between July 2015 and June 2017 – and he admitted having almost 1000 indecent images and videos of children between Jan 2015 and June 2017. He also has asked the court to take into consideration two further offences of having indecent images of children and one of possessing extreme pornography. Taylor also admitted breaching a sexual harm prevention order. Judge Lawrie said to Taylor: “My own experience of dealing with people like you, backed up by the author of your pre-sentence report, is that you are plainly dangerous and you pose a risk to young girls.” The judge sentenced Taylor to an extended prison term of 14 years, two of which will be in custody and 12 years on licence and ordered Taylor to sign the sex offenders register for life and to be subject to a 15-year sexual harm prevention order which includes limited internet use and being barred from being in the company of girls under the age of 16. Taylor was also subjected to a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his victims June 2018 Man caught by paedophile hunters after attempting to meet up with 13-year-old in McDonald’s A man who thought he was meeting up with a 13-year-old girl at McDonald’s was met by a paedophile hunters group after sending them indecent messages. Mark Taylor, 47, attempted to meet up with an underage girl he believed was called Becky at the fast food restaurant in Talbot Green on February 3. The defendant began talking to the girl, who was in fact a decoy and a member of the group Welsh Children Protectors, on a dating website. But seconds after the fictional girl told him she was 13 years old the nature of the conversation became sexual and Taylor asked her if she was a “good girl or a naughty girl” and whether she wanted to see his genitals. A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday heard Taylor had travelled down from his home in Gloucester to Talbot Green in order to meet the girl. He also set up a WhatsApp account and pretended to be a 15-year-old girl in order to reassure his intended victim he was trustworthy and safe to meet up with. Prosecutor Jason Howells said: “The initial conversation starts with the decoy saying she was 13 years old. He said she looked older and asked her if she was a good or naughty girl.” He added: “The conversation moved on to them talking about meeting up. He asked her if he would get to see ‘boob’ and suggests this will help her get a boyfriend.” The conversation carried on in this nature for a number of weeks and the defendant asked the decoy if she liked oral sex and if they could go to bed together. Mr Howells continued: “On the day of the meeting the decoy and others from the group watched as the defendant got out of his car and confronted him. “There was a scuffle and the police were called.” The defendant was arrested and initially claimed he knew the person he was speaking to was overage and he believed they were engaging in role play but he later pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. When police seized his phone they also discovered indecent images of children with three at category A, seven at category B, and 22 at category C. There were also a number of internet searches made relating to teens and underage children as well as two searches relating to bestiality. The defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of a child. Sentencing Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke said: “It’s quite clear that these offences are so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence would be appropriate.” Taylor, of Manor Park, Gloucester, was sentenced to two years in prison.