NEWTOWN MAN WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES CAUGHT GROOMING TEENS FOR SEX AND GIVEN SUSPENDED SENTENCE
A 50-year-old man with learning difficulties who arranged to meet a teenage girl he groomed online for sex has been given a suspended prison sentence.Stephen Mole was caught by a paedophile hunting group and then arrested by police at Newtown Railway Station on July 20 last year.
He planned to meet one of two 14-year-old girls he had been messaging on SweetMeet and WhatsApp, who were in fact decoys and no real children were involved.
Mole asked one of the girls, who told him she was 14, for a "sexy pic" and if she would show him her genitals.
He asked another 'girl' to wear a skirt when she visited Newtown so they could have "fun playing with my bits" and her genitals and made references to it taking place in a bush.
Court was told that no indecent images or history of searches relating to child sexual offences were found on Mole's mobile phone and computer.
He admitted a charge of attempting to meet a girl under 16 years of age following grooming and two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
The court was told that no evidence of accessing indecent images or relevant internet searches was found.
Mole was sentenced to 18 months in prison but the sentence was suspended for 12 months.
His Honour Judge Simon Mills told Mole it was "time to stop pretending" he had been trying to meet an over-16, calling it "utter nonsense".
The court noted that Mole minimized the offences due to embarrassment and shame.
As part of the sentence, Mole must complete 45 rehabilitation activity requirement days, 100 hours of unpaid work, and mental health treatment for the next 12 months.
He is also required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.
