TREVOR REES

NORTHUMBERLAND SECURITY GUARD JAILED FOR CHILD EXPLOITATION

A former security guard from Northumberland, Trevor Rees, was convicted for involvement in child exploitation crimes after arranging to meet what he believed was a 15-year-old boy for sexual activity.

The meeting was part of a sting operation conducted by paedophile hunters Dark Justice, who had set up a decoy profile pretending to be an 18-year-old.

Rees initially engaged in online sexual conversations with the decoy, unaware it was a trap.

Once informed of the boy's actual age, Rees did not terminate the conversation as he was expected to, and instead continued, suggesting they meet to masturbate.

An eventual meeting was planned and changed from a hotel to an industrial estate where he worked as a security officer.

When Rees arrived, he was confronted by the paedophile hunters and arrested.

Police subsequently found hundreds of indecent images in his possession, including over 600 of the most serious category A images, along with extreme pornography and prohibited images.

Rees, aged 69, from Granville Gardens, Stakeford, pleaded guilty to arranging or facilitating a child sex offence, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and possessing indecent images.

He was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, with a requirement for mental health treatment.

Additionally, he will be under a sexual harm prevention order and required to register as a sex offender for ten years.