ROBERT PARCELL FROM SOUTH NORWOOD SENTENCED FOR ONLINE GROOMING AND INDECENT IMAGES TO SCHOOLGIRL IN DERBY

In December 2013, Robert Parcell, a 27-year-old man from South Norwood, London, was handed a seven-month prison sentence after being convicted of serious breaches related to online misconduct involving a teenage girl. The case unfolded in Derby, where the court heard how Parcell, despite being under a court order that explicitly prohibited him from contacting individuals under the age of 16 via the internet, continued to engage in inappropriate communications with minors.

It was a vigilant and caring older sister who played a crucial role in exposing Parcell’s misconduct. She discovered a message on her 15-year-old sister’s phone, which was received at their family home in Buxton. Recognizing the disturbing nature of the message, she promptly alerted the police. The message in question contained an indecent image of Parcell’s genitals, which he had sent to the young girl, along with suggestive and grooming language.

During the court proceedings, Judge Jonathan Gosling highlighted the seriousness of the breach. He pointed out that the alarm was raised when Parcell suggested that the 15-year-old girl should run away with him, a clear indication of his inappropriate intentions. The judge noted that the girl’s sister had attempted to entrap Parcell by reading the messages, but he had been too clever to be caught initially. Despite deleting the message, Parcell had been actively trying to contact other teenage girls through social media platforms like Facebook, where he groomed girls as young as 15. The judge emphasized that this was a calculated and prolonged breach of the existing court order, which Parcell had ignored, even though he claimed he had never met any of the girls in person.

Parcell, who was already subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order imposed in 2009, admitted to breaching it. His arrest in February of the previous year was linked to these new offences. Prosecutor Mark Knowles detailed how Parcell had emailed explicit images of his penis to a 15-year-old girl and asked for her opinion on the pictures. He also contacted another 15-year-old girl, asking if she liked to go out with older men and whether she was interested in having a wild time. These actions demonstrated a clear pattern of grooming and predatory behavior.

During the hearing, Parcell’s defense lawyer, Nathaniel Wade, described his client as a “fantasist” and pointed out the stark contrast between his online behavior and his real-life circumstances. Wade explained that Parcell lived with his family in South Norwood, London, and was in a long-term relationship with a partner and their one-year-old child. When Parcell met his partner, he disclosed the existence of the court order, and she had accepted it. Wade expressed shock at Parcell’s reappearance before the court on similar charges but emphasized his client’s genuine desire to change and his recognition of having a problem.

It is noteworthy that Parcell’s criminal history includes an incident from February 2009, when he was a security guard. He was caught in an undercover sting operation where he posed as a 15-year-old boy in chatrooms to lure a schoolgirl into sexual conversations. Parcell, then 22, used his mobile phone to groom the 13-year-old girl over a period of more than four months. As part of his sentence, he was ordered to register as a sex offender and was given a community order, reflecting the serious nature of his offenses and the ongoing concern about his conduct online.