DEPRAVED MAN JAILED FOR GROOMING AND EXPLOITING MINORS
A man from East Lancashire, known to have a sexual interest in girls wetting the bed, was apprehended after engaging with a police decoy on an online chat platform.Sean Hall, aged 41 and residing on Huttock End Lane in Stacksteads, initiated contact with an anonymous police account on RandoChat, a service that allows for private conversations.
From July 2022 to February 2023, Hall exchanged messages of a sexual nature not only with the decoy but also with two underage girls.
Court records showed that Lancashire Police’s child investigation team interacted with Hall on February 1, 2023, through a decoy named 'Jaz.' During the exchange, Hall introduced himself as a 40-year-old man named Steven and proposed shifting the conversation to Snapchat.
The court was told that Hall engaged in sexually explicit discussions, including talking about his genitals, asking if the decoy peed the bed a topic he described as a fetish and expressing a wish to take her virginity.
He also asked for sexual images, cautioning against sharing such photos because of the risks involved.
These messages continued for several months, with Hall sending explicit images until he became upset when the decoy did not reciprocate with photos, at which point he stopped replying.
Police investigation revealed the associated phone number for Hall’s Snapchat was a prepaid SIM card that was frequently recharged at Bacup Post Office.
Hall was arrested once police identified this number.
When apprehended, he expressed surprise, asking, “How did you find out?” and remained silent during questioning.
Further examination of his messages on TikTok and WhatsApp uncovered references to a nine-year-old girl, including questions about whether she was single, whether she wanted to be his girlfriend or wife, and whether she wet the bed.
Hall pleaded guilty to multiple charges involving attempts to engage in sexual activity with a child and to communicate sexually with a minor.
Judge Sara Dodd sentenced him to an extended custodial period of ten years comprising six years imprisonment plus four years on license and imposed a five-year sexual harm prevention order.
The judge noted Hall’s prior conviction for sharing images of a severely abused young child and described him as dangerous, with a deep, disturbing interest in young girls.
She warned that until Hall addresses these issues, he remains at high risk of reoffending.
