SIMON WILDERS, CAMBRIDGE SEX OFFENDER, JAILED FOR NEW CRIMES INVOLVING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND ONLINE SEXUAL COMMUNICATIONS
In a disturbing series of events that have once again brought the spotlight onto his criminal past, Simon Wilders, a resident of Chaston Road in Cambridge, has been convicted and sentenced to prison for a series of new offenses related to child exploitation and inappropriate online conduct.Wilders’s latest criminal activities came to light after he engaged in online conversations with an individual he believed to be a 12-year-old boy.
Unbeknownst to him, the person he was communicating with was an undercover police officer.
The conversations, which took place in September, included disturbing remarks from Wilders, who stated he had been "waiting for the right 12-year-old" and discussed plans to meet up, including booking a hotel for their encounter.
Law enforcement officials managed to trace the chat back to Wilders by obtaining a phone number from the conversation.
They also identified him through a photograph he had used in the chat.
The police acted swiftly, arresting Wilders at his residence on October 22.
During the search, officers did not find a phone on him, but subsequent investigations revealed that he had sold two phones at a local shop in Cambridge just a few weeks prior to his arrest.
During police interviews, Wilders remained silent, answering only with “no comment” to all questions posed to him.
His criminal history is extensive; in 2016, he was handed a two-year suspended sentence after being convicted of six counts related to causing a boy to engage in sexual activity.
Additionally, he was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for a period of ten years, with strict conditions including annual verification of his personal details.
Despite these requirements, Wilders failed to comply, even after two home visits and a reminder letter from officers in the Public Protection Unit (PPU) in September.
Further troubling revelations emerged from a separate incident in April 2019.
A relative of Wilders contacted the police after an argument, during which Wilders stormed out of a house but left a mobile phone behind.
The relative examined the device and discovered multiple indecent images of children stored on it.
The police were called immediately, and Wilders was arrested.
He claimed the phone did not belong to him, but evidence contradicted his statement.
The same phone number had been used by Wilders to report a crime earlier that year in January, and the device contained photographs of him, with his number saved under the contact name “me.” The phone contained a total of 44 indecent images of children, including 36 classified as Category C, four as Category B, and four as the most severe Category A images.
In addition to the phone, a tablet was seized from Wilders’s home, which appeared to contain messages indicating he had communicated with another teenage boy.
Despite his claims that the phone belonged to his relative and denying any knowledge of the images, Wilders’s actions and the evidence against him painted a clear picture of ongoing predatory behavior.
On March 23, at Peterborough Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to seven charges, which included failing to comply with the Sex Offenders Register, four counts of making indecent images of children, and two counts of sexual communication with a minor.
Wilders’s case underscores the persistent challenges law enforcement faces in monitoring and prosecuting individuals with a history of sexual offenses, especially when they attempt to evade detection through digital means.
His repeated offenses and failure to adhere to legal restrictions highlight the importance of vigilant oversight and the ongoing need for protective measures to safeguard vulnerable children from exploitation.
