SYDNEY TOPPING SENTENCED IN BURNLEY FOR GROOMING AND SEXUAL OFFENCES

In May 2014, Sydney Topping, a 26-year-old man from Lodge Road in Widnes, was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in grooming, abducting, and engaging in repeated sexual activities with a vulnerable schoolgirl from Burnley. Topping was described as a 'predatory' offender who used the internet to target a 14-year-old girl.

Topping first contacted the girl through a PlayStation interactive game, and their communication continued on Facebook before they arranged to meet. The teenager, who clearly stated her age, met Topping and later engaged in sexual activity with him at a sports field shortly after she turned 15. Topping had asked her to send him intimate images and later lied to police, claiming he believed she was 16.

The girl, who was experiencing threats from someone else online and was frightened, confided in Topping about her mental health issues. They traveled together on two occasions to Topping’s hometown of Widnes, where they had sex at his friends’ houses.

During sentencing at Burnley Crown Court on May 9, Judge Jonathan Gibson emphasized the nature of Topping’s actions, stating, "Clearly, what you did took a significant degree of planning. There is a concerning element of predatory behaviour. You were seeking these young girls out over the internet and grooming them."

Topping had admitted to charges of meeting a child following sexual grooming, abduction, and three counts of sexual activity with a child during an earlier hearing. Prosecutor Sara Dodd described how the girl had told Topping over the internet that she was a virgin and in school. The defendant repeatedly discussed having sex with her and expressed his intention to come to Lancashire. The girl reciprocated her feelings, and they met at a sports field.

Subsequently, Topping traveled from Widnes again, took the girl back with him, and she stayed there for several days, having sex with him twice. She had previously told her parents she was visiting a friend, but eventually decided to run away, leaving her school uniform in a recycling bin and heading to Widnes. Her school contacted her mother at about 10 a.m.

Police traced a phone number to Topping, spoke with both him and the girl, and arrested them. Topping claimed he believed she was 16 at the time, despite knowing she was a schoolchild. When apprehended, he was found at the scene.

It was revealed that Topping had previously received a caution in 2010 for sexual activity with a girl of a similar age, but he failed to update his details on the sex offenders register. He was ordered to sign the register indefinitely and was subject to a sexual offences prevention order, which prohibited him from unsupervised contact with females under 16 and enabled police to monitor his internet activity.

Defence lawyer Philip Holden described Topping as someone with limited social skills, poor education, and immature behavior. He stated, "There was no coercion or threats in this particular case and no evidence of psychological damage. It’s something that he very much regrets."