June 2014 Man, 46, persuaded schoolboy to expose himself A married bank worker had a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old boy and downloaded child abuse images on the internet. Peter Attaway was reported to the police after the victim’s dad found inappropriate text messages from him on his son’s mobile phone. Officers went to Attaway’s then home in Belton, Leicestershire, where they discovered he had accessed hundreds of illegal images of boys on his home computer. At Leicester Crown Court, Attaway, who was bailed to an address in Stanhope Road, Gedling, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, by persuading the child to expose himself to him. He also admitted four counts of possessing indecent images of children, relating to 912 images at level one, 23 at level two, six at level three and 14 at level four. Level five is the most serious. Attaway (46) also admitted downloading a further 409 images at level one and possessing three indecent pseudo, or cartoon, videos depicting sexual activity with children, between 2012 and 2013. He was sentenced to a three- year community order, with supervision, and a requirement to undergo a sex offender rehabilitation. A five-year sexual offences prevention order was also made, banning him from unsupervised contact with children under 16 and placing restrictions on his use of the internet, which will be monitored by the authorities. The court heard Attaway, who lost his job at a bank when the offences came to light, now works as a writer. Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Dean QC said in relation to the boy he befriended: “I accept you didn’t engage in sexual activity with him, other than to persuade him briefly to expose himself to you. “You clearly have perverted thought processes. “You gained sexual gratification through downloading and viewing indecent images of children. “You have sought help and demonstrated a level of insight, to give good reason to suppose, with help and assistance, you will be able to overcome the problems you’ve got yourself into. “You’ve brought the fabric of your own life crumbling around your ears. “It must have come as an appalling shock to your family. “It now causes you to be alone and isolated in the world.” David Outterside, mitigating, said: “He’s remorseful. “He has sought help and wants to work with the probation service so that what happened with the boy is an isolated one-off. “Before this, he lived a blameless live. “His wife has started divorce proceedings and his relationship with his two children has now been damaged. “He’s suffering from anxiety and depression.”