SIMON PRICE SENTENCED IN NORWICH FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES INVOLVING 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL
A man from Norfolk, Simon Price, 40, was sentenced after a series of disturbing offences involving a 13-year-old girl.The incident came to light when the victim’s mother discovered her daughter asleep and noticing a man watching her on a live stream on her phone.
The court heard that Price first met the girl on a gaming platform in November 2019.
During their initial chats, Price claimed to be 26, while the girl insisted she was older than her actual age.
As their conversations progressed, they moved to Instagram, where their exchanges became more personal, discussing medical issues and her difficulties.
Prosecutor Benedict Peers stated, “The conversation became increasingly flirtatious.” Price began acting as if they were in a relationship, and their chats grew sexualized, including the exchange of images and videos, as well as live streaming each other.
At one point, the girl blocked Price on Instagram, but he continued to contact her through other social media platforms.
The victim expressed to police that she felt “guilty” because of Price’s medical history.
In March of the following year, Price traveled to the south coast, where he picked up the girl and sexually assaulted her in the back of his car on the seaside.
The girl told police she “froze” during the assaults.
After the attacks, Price reportedly encouraged her to self-harm, saying he “wanted to help her do it.” The offences only came to light after the victim’s mother entered her bedroom in May last year and found her asleep.
She also saw a man watching her during a live stream video on her phone, which led to police being contacted and Price being identified.
A victim impact statement revealed the teenager’s struggles with self-harm, her fears about being alone, and her difficulty trusting others because she feared being lied to.
Her mother’s statement described her own horror at what had happened, how it affected her, her partner, and her other daughter.
She couldn’t get out of her mind the image of her daughter sleeping next to her with Price watching.
Price appeared in court for sentencing on Monday, February 1, having previously admitted to multiple charges, including grooming an under-16 girl, engaging in sexual activity with a minor, making sexual communications with a child, and possessing an indecent photo of a child.
He was sentenced to an extended term of 10 years and four months, consisting of five and a half years in custody with an additional five years on licence.
Judge Andrew Shaw described Price as a significant risk to the public, noting that Price had lied about his age and groomed the girl before assaulting her.
In addition to his sentence, Price was made subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and was placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.
Defense mitigation by Andrew Oliver highlighted Price’s guilty pleas, indicating remorse, and acknowledged the victim’s vulnerability and mental health deterioration.
Oliver pointed out that Price suffers from multiple personality disorder and had experienced a traumatic childhood.
He explained that Price believed the girl was older but knew her true age before the assaults, calling the incident the “biggest mistake of his life” and expressing remorse for harming a child as he himself had been harmed in childhood.
