BROMSGROVE MAN AVOIDS JAIL AFTER ONLINE CHILD SEX CHAT STING
A CHILD sex predator who had chats with what he believed were 13-year-old girls was caught by so-called 'paedophile hunters' in a successful sting.The 54-year-old of Alderley Road, Bromsgrove appeared before magistrates in Worcester in May where he did not enter pleas after evidence was gathered that he had sent intimate photos of himself to two people he believed to be children aged 13.
The charges were listed as 'attempts' because the alleged correspondence was said to involve a 'decoy vigilante group' rather than communication with actual children.
Brocklehurst communicated online with decoy children in Worcester, profiles created by a group called Soloceptors, as part of a sting operation conducted between December 2018 and June 2019.
Magistrates had earlier declined jurisdiction for the case.
At Worcester Crown Court Brocklehurst appeared before Judge James Burbidge QC.
He was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for 18 months and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order, which is intended to protect children by controlling his internet use and preventing him from having unsupervised contact with children.
He is also required to sign the Sex Offender Register for 10 years and pay costs of £260.
