PLYMOUTH MAN STEPHEN HUMPHRIES SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES AND SEXUAL ASSAULT
A man from Plymouth, Stephen Humphries, has been sentenced to prison for internet-based child sex offences and the sexual assault of a young girl.Humphries, aged 58 and residing on Pendeen Close in Plymouth, received an eight-year prison sentence at Plymouth Crown Court on Thursday, 21 March.
Additionally, he was sentenced to serve two more years on extended licence.
Humphries pleaded guilty to multiple charges including attempting to facilitate a child sex offence, making indecent photographs of children, distributing images, taking indecent photographs, sexual assault of a child, and possession of extreme pornography.
He was also subjected to a sexual harm prevention order.
The court was told that Humphries had been communicating online with an individual from 4 October 2023, believing he was planning to commit a child sexual offence.
Unbeknownst to him, the person he was communicating with was actually an undercover police officer.
Humphries’s home was raided at approximately 12.10pm on Saturday, 14 October.
Officers found evidence on his phone suggesting he was preparing to carry out his plans.
Several devices were seized from his property and later examined, revealing thousands of indecent images and videos of children across all three categories.
There was also evidence indicating Humphries had shared some of these images with others.
In addition to the online offences, Humphries was sentenced for sexually assaulting a girl under 16 in Plymouth.
Commenting on the case, DC Sophie House stated: “This was a complex police investigation which incorporated work from both the Devon and Cornwall Police Paedophile Online Investigation Team and the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU).” She added, “We welcome today’s sentence and hope this conviction serves as a stark warning to those with an unlawfully blurred view of consent and the wider implications of the sexual abuse of children.
This was a collaborative effort involving officers from NEROCU, Devon and Cornwall’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team, the Force Support Group, and the Data Forensic Unit.” DC House also expressed gratitude to the victim, saying, “I would also like to thank the victim in this case for her bravery and courage in coming forward.
It’s not an easy thing to disclose something very personal, especially when it relates to sexual offences.
I hope this investigation highlights that the police take sexual allegations seriously, you will be believed, and we will support you as much as we can.”
