June 2023 Sexting pervert caught by mother of girl he groomed found A paedophile, who was originally caught by the mother of a young girl he was sexting online, has appeared back in court after failing to comply with strict rules about his internet usage. Raymond Attwood, 40, was jailed a decade ago after the mother pretended to be her daughter online, uncovered Attwood’s identity and reported him to the police. He served a two-year-sentence for sending the 12-year-old explicit sexual messages detailing what he wanted to do. Previously, the court heard how Attwood lived an isolate life and had “no actual friends and no actual social life”. When police made a surprise visit to Attwood’s Middlesbrough home on May 25, and told him they were going to check that he had not been using any internet-enabled devices that he hadn’t declared to them – Attwood immediately handed them a mobile phone stuffed down the side of his settee. Under the terms of his sexual harm prevention order – imposed in 2013 – Attwood must keep to strict rules about his online use, which is monitored by police. He must also declare any new devices and bank cards he has. Nigel Soppitt, prosecuting, told the court that he hadn’t declared the mobile phone and checks made on it showed that he had been using it for a year. “He had downloaded Snapchat, which automatically deletes messages, so this is a further breach” Mr Soppitt said, “and his username “Ray38″ had nine female names in his contacts.” Attwood, previously of Saltburn but now of Wicklow Street in central Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to the two breaches of his sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements. He has broken his court order twice before – in 2013 and 2022. Judge Paul Watson KC said that a report on Attwood from the probation service, “suggests he still presents a risk to young girls.” Attwood was jailed for 16-months. He will be eligible for release after he has served half of his sentence. June 2013 Mother poses as girl, 12, to snare Middlesbrough internet pervert A mother posed as her 12-year-old daughter to trap an internet pervert who was trying to arrange a meeting for sex. The woman went along with Raymond Attwood’s online chat so she could discover who he was and tell the police. Attwood, 30, told cops after his arrest that he spent all his time looking at pornography sites and playing war games. He was described by his lawyer as “socially isolated” and wept as he was jailed for two years at Teesside Crown Court. The court heard how he was found with child abuse images and had a perverted fascination with girls in school uniform. Judge Peter Armstrong praised the mother’s detective skills and said she may have prevented her daughter being abused. He also added his voice to concern about a lack of internet restrictions which the Government has pledged to tackle. Calls have grown after the conviction of paedophile Mark Bridger for the murder of Welsh schoolgirl April Jones. Judge Armstrong said today (June 5): “This is yet another case of Facebook being used, or abused, for sexual purposes. “The sentence is intended to be a deterrent to you or anybody else who thinks it is acceptable to do this sort of thing.” Attwood was 28 at the time of the offences and was living alone in Saltburn, east Cleveland, the court was told. He used the name RayAtt on Facebook and had groomed the schoolgirl over the summer of 2011, said prosecutor Rachel Masters. The youngster “defriended” him when his messages became vulgar, but her mother spotted some of them and turned detective. During a vile exchange, Attwood – thinking he was talking to the girl – suggested a series of sexual things he would like to do. The judge described the earlier friendly messages as “classic grooming” and told Attwood his later postings were disgraceful. Graham Silvester, mitigating, told the court that loner Attwood used Facebook to chat with adults as well as schoolgirls. “He had no actual friends and no actual social life,” said Mr Silvester. “He was a socially-isolated man. “His whole life was involved in being on the computer, playing war games, watching pornography. He knew what he was doing was wrong. “He knows how serious the situation is, and, through me, expresses his remorse to the victim in this case.” Attwood, now of Sedgemoor Road, Middlesbrough, admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. He was also put on the sex offenders’ register for life, banned from working with children and had restrictions put on his computer use. Judge Armstrong said: “It seems to me the prompt and sensible actions of the mother were commendable. “Her quick-thinking was able to bring this defendant to book, and may well have prevented more serious activity.” Dr Jon Bird, from the National Association of People Abused in Childhood, said afterwards: “It is good to see a judgement on a child abuse case which we can thoroughly endorse. “There have been many well-reasoned calls for stronger controls on websites being used by perverts to prepare children for abuse and this case illustrates the danger. “If it were not for the diligent and brave actions of the mother, a dangerous crime against the child may have been committed. “Putting the culprit behind bars will prevent him from attempting to abuse any other children for the duration.”