A pervert told a "teenage girl" that he had a Big Mac in his shorts in reference to his penis.
Graeme Phillips was snared by a group of paedophile hunters known as 'Dank Dragons Exposed' after he sent vile naked selfies to the group's 'decoys'. The 41-year-old eventually tracked to the Farmer's Arms pub in Moreton, where another group called Stop UK confronted him on behalf of the Wales based Dank Dragons and performed a "citizen's arrest".
Phillips, of Ivy Lane, Moreton, was handed over to Merseyside Police and later admitted two counts of attempting to engage a child in sexual communication. He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today, where details of the vile messages were read out.
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Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, told the court: "The case involves a gentlemen called Anthony Thomas who describes himself as a member of Dank Dragons Exposed, apparently a voluntary organisation set to up to detect and expose paedophilic activities on the internet.
"He played the part of a girl called Sarah Jones who he said was 14-years-old and was contacted by the defendant on the Meet4U app."
The court heard Phillips told 'Sarah' he was 40 and initially said "I think you're too old for me". However when she changed a profile picture on her WhatsApp account Phillips began sending sexualised messages on December 1, 2021.
Mr Blasbery said: "As a result of that picture the defendant told the decoy she was beautiful and stunning, he then sent a picture of himself naked from the waist up where he was sitting on the bed. He then told her 'I probably have bigger t*** than her', and told her he didn't care if she wore a bra or not."
Other vile comments including asking if he could "make her blush", talking about her breasts and telling her he had a "Big Mac in his shorts", referring to his penis. He also asked for a "naughty picture" and sent her a picture of his penis in a "semi-erect" state and asked if she thought "it was nice".
On December 14, Phillips also began messaging a decoy account on Meet4U called Scarlett Rossiter, operated by an adult called Hannah Clarke, who also posed as a 14-year-old.
Mr Blasbery told the court Phillips began making sexualised comments and told her he slept naked, and began asking about her breasts. Phillips also told the decoy "not to tell her mum".
At this point, Dank Dragons called on Stop UK to help and Phillips was confronted outside the pub. Mr Blasbery said Phillips, who has no previous convictions, refused to answer any questions in his police interview.
Lionel Greig, defending, said his client had been living an "isolated" existence during lockdown, with his 71-year-old mum who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. He also said his client had lost his dad in 2018.
Mr Greig urged the court to spare his client immediate custody, and order intervention to address his behaviour and prevent him from re-offending, rather than a prison sentence.
The judge, Recorder Mark Ainsworth, agreed to spare Phillips immediate custody, telling the pervert addressing his perverted behaviour in the long term would benefit society more than a prison sentence.
He said: "I have to make an assessment of the prospect of rehabilitation in this case, having read the pre-sentence report I do believe there is a good prospect of rehabilitation in this case and I have a duty to society."
Phillips was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, and told he must sign the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years. He was also ordered to complete the Horizon course for sex offenders and to complete 40 Rehabilitation Activity Days with the Probation Service.
He was also told to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order severely restricting his internet usage.
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