SIMON BARKER SENTENCED IN SOUTHAMPTON FOR GROOMING IN NORTHTOWN
A shop worker named Simon Barker attempted to groom girls as young as 13 on the controversial teen dating website MyLOL.com, once called a "playground for paedophiles." Barker, 18 years old, used the site, which is reportedly the most popular teen dating platform in the UK with over 300,000 monthly visitors, to send explicit messages and images to what he believed were underage girls.Police had set up fake profiles on the site to catch potential sex offenders.
Barker was arrested after engaging in sexual conversations with three such profiles, all of which depicted 13-year-old girls.
Despite being under investigation, Barker continued his inappropriate behavior after his initial release.
Last week, Barker was sentenced to 20 months at a young offenders institute following his appearance at Southampton Crown Court.
The court revealed that police discovered Barker on MyLOL.com, which has previously faced criticism from organizations like the NSPCC, who called it a "playground for paedophiles".
Prosecutor Dawn Hyland explained that police used fake profiles to communicate with Barker.
During the exchanges, he repeatedly steered the conversations toward sex, sent an explicit image of himself, and attempted to arrange meetings with all three profiles.
Describing one interaction, Ms.
Hyland said, "He asked her to come round to his flat.
He said that when she came, she should pretend to be his cousin to his flatmates because he described it as ‘illegal and weird.’" Police later searched Barker's computer but found no indecent images.
After Barker's initial release, he contacted a real 15-year-old girl via Facebook, initiating a series of messages that included both friendly and explicit content.
The pair eventually met at Barker’s flat after he agreed to lend her £20.
Ms.
Hyland noted that at the end of a roughly hour-long meeting, Barker unexpectedly lunged and kissed her.
In his defense, lawyer John Dyer explained that Barker struggled with social interactions and was assessed by medical professionals as possibly having an autistic spectrum condition.
Dyer added that Barker, a former Eastleigh College student and previously employed in retail at Westquay, found it difficult to empathize.
He also mentioned, "His vulgar language in the messages was somewhat child-like and he didn’t fully grasp the seriousness of his actions.
He wants to apologize to his victim for what he did." Barker, of Millbrook Road West, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including three counts of attempting to engage in sexual conversation with a child, one count of sexual communication with a child, and one count of meeting a child after grooming.
Judge Peter Henry sentenced him to 20 months in a young offenders institute and issued a ten-year sexual harm prevention order, urging Barker to take advantage of the educational courses during his detention and to understand the impact of his actions.
