OXFORD DELIVERY DRIVER STEVEN JENKINS ESCAPES JAIL AFTER TARGETING BRIDGWATER SCHOOLGIRLS

In a disturbing case that has shocked the community, Steven Jenkins, a 21-year-old delivery driver from Oxford, was found guilty of manipulating two teenage girls from Bridgwater into sending him explicit images and videos. Despite the severity of his actions, Jenkins was not sentenced to prison but was instead handed a three-year community order during his appearance at Taunton Crown Court on February 17.

Jenkins employed a manipulative tactic to flatter the two 15-year-old girls, using kind words and compliments to gain their trust and encourage them to send sexually explicit photographs and videos. His approach was calculated, aiming to exploit their vulnerability and naivety. The court heard that Jenkins threatened to take his own life if the girls refused his demands, a tactic that added emotional pressure and fear to their already distressing situation.

The case came to light after one of the victims, feeling overwhelmed and concerned, confided in her teacher about Jenkins’s inappropriate behavior. This disclosure prompted an investigation that eventually led to Jenkins’s arrest in December. During police questioning, Jenkins claimed he was unaware that requesting images from girls aged 16 to 18 was an offence, and he expressed ignorance of the girls’ actual ages.

The court was informed that Jenkins had initially contacted one of the girls after she posted a message on Blackberry Messenger indicating she was feeling depressed. Prosecutor Janice Eagles explained that Jenkins had initially tried to comfort her with flattery, but the interaction soon grew more inappropriate as he requested explicit images. The victims sent him between ten and fifteen pictures, along with two videos from one girl, and approximately twenty photos from the other.

Jenkins’s actions drew condemnation from the judge, Graham Hume Jones, who emphasized the importance of protecting young people from such exploitation. The judge remarked, “It is well known unfortunately that some young people are using their telephones in order to transmit incidents of sexual activity. This is mostly, in my understanding, done out of bravado and showing off. Children ought to be protected from that sort of activity. You degraded these children and caused them concern when they discovered they had been duped into this sort of behaviour.”

In his defense, Jenkins’s lawyer, Patrick Mason, highlighted Jenkins’s employment as a delivery driver for a national company, noting that he was in a well-paid position but uncertain about his future employment prospects due to the case. Jenkins was ordered to register as a sex offender, participate in the Thames Valley Sex Offenders’ programme, and pay costs amounting to £350. The court’s decision underscores the seriousness of the offense, even as Jenkins walks free from jail, raising ongoing concerns about the protection of minors from online exploitation.