EASTLEIGH MAN SIMON PATRICK WESTWOOD JAILED FOR FIVE YEARS OVER CHILD SEX OFFENCE PLOT

A 46-year-old man from Eastleigh, Simon Patrick Westwood, has been sentenced to five years in prison after attempting to meet what he believed was a child. Over a period of nine months, Westwood exchanged messages—often of a highly sexual nature—with a presumed child, whom he thought he was communicating with, but the child was actually a decoy. The court heard that Westwood also made arrangements and traveled to a pre-agreed location intending to meet the supposed child. Westwood admitted to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, as well as arranging or facilitating a child sex offence. These offences occurred between January 2021 and October 2021. On Monday, he was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court and received a five-year prison term. In addition to his imprisonment, Westwood was ordered to sign the sex offenders register and was placed under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Detective Constable Angela Smith-Jones commented on the case, saying: "In a day and age where social media is so prevalent in young peoples' lives, and the ease in which messages can be sent by people unknown to them, it is incredibly important that we, as the police, are in a position to investigate if we believe that criminal offences have taken place during these exchanges. During this investigation, we have worked closely with the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) to develop evidence against an individual who had every intention of meeting who they believed to be a child in order to commit sexual offences against them. We want to continue to protect any vulnerable people, including young children, against possible sexual exploitation, and I hope that this conviction shows the lengths that we will go to investigate such claims." She also expressed hope that the sentence would serve as a warning about the dangers of the digital world and motivate victims to come forward. Detective Inspector James Oxley of SEROCU added, "By working in collaboration with Hampshire Constabulary, officers were able to carry out a thorough investigation, demonstrating the lengths we continue to go to disrupt sexual exploitation and keep children safe from harm."