Blackpool pervert snared by paedophile hunters posing as 13-year-old girls online
A pervert was snared by paedophile hunters posing as 13-year-old schoolgirls online, Preston Crown Court was told.
Ryan Foster thought he was having sexual chats on social media with three girls less than half his age.
The 28-year-old even sent them indecent photos of himself and asked them to do the same.
In fact he was unwittingly talking to three adult “decoys” with a mission to unmask predators who prey on children on the internet.
Foster, of St Annes Road, Blackpool pleaded guilty to three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
But he was spared an immediate jail sentence after Judge Paul Hodgkinson heard he lived in supported accommodation and had mental health issues.
Instead Foster, whose support worker was with him in court, was made the subject of a three-year community order so he can receive help with rehabilitation.
Prosecution barrister Lewis Hazeldine said vigilante groups set up three profiles of 13-year-old girls called Amelia, Emily and Emma on social media platforms to see who would respond.
Foster contacted Amelia who immediately told him she was 13. He responded by saying “age is just a number”. The chat began as non-sexual, but he soon asked her: “Have you had sex before?”
He then sent explicit sexual messages to her, one of which concluded: “Text me when your mum is out and I’ll come to yours.”
He sent her an indecent photograph of himself and asked: “Do you want sex?” It was followed with a message asking her to undress and asking what colour of underwear she had on.
He then made contact with the profile called Emily who also said she was 13. Again he said: “Age is just a number.” He asked her if she wanted him to be her boyfriend, asked what she was wearing and sent her numerous pictures of himself undressed.
The same happened with Ella, asking her if she wanted to see his private parts, sending her indecent images and once again saying: “Age is just a number.”
When police visited him at his home they seized a number of digital devices and arrested him.
Mr Hazeldine said Foster had admitted he was responsible for the messages to Amelia, Emily and Ella, but he denied they had been sent “for sexual gratification”.
The 28-year-old's police record showed that in the past he had been convicted of detaining a child without lawful authority - he was caught in a hot-tub with a partially clothed 14-year-old girl at an Airbnb property. He was 24 at the time.
The court heard the girl had been in a relationship with another man who was also present at the house during a three-day stay in 2021.
Mr Hazeldine added that the latest offence was only attempting to communicate with 13-year-old girls because there were no actual girls involved.
Barrister Julie Taylor, defending, said Foster’s mental age might not match his actual age because of his issues. He was not capable of living alone unsupported.
At the time of these offences he was being bullied at an address where he was living and had found himself becoming more and more isolated.
“That is no excuse and never can be,” she said. “But those who become isolated seek out company on the internet.
“He knows it’s wrong to have conversations like this. Fortunately for him no-one came to any harm. They weren’t children.
“But he engaged in these conversations when he was low and his relationship with his partner had ended. Happily for him he has now moved to a different address where he lives with a number of other people in similar circumstances to him. He is not isolated there.”
Foster, she said, had spent time in custody for the previous matter in 2021 and had found it “incredibly difficult”. “He is terrified of going into custody (again) having tasted it once and that will act as a huge deterrent.
“He can’t function on his own. But he knows that if he doesn’t abide by the requirements of any orders (of the court) he is sending himself to prison because the court won’t accept it a second time.”
Judge Hodgkinson said Foster had clearly believed he was having conversations with real 13-year-old girls.
He told him he had considered sending him immediately to prison but had pulled back from that because he would get better support on his rehabilitation with a three-year community order.
But he warned Foster: “Let me assure you, if I see you again I will remember you and remember what you have done and what an opportunity I have given you today.
“Should I see you again you will go to prison. Is that absolutely clear?”
He also ordered him to do 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and take part in a Building Better Choices programme.
“I wish you luck because you will decide what happens next,” he added. “You will decide your future here. If I do see you again your future will be dark.”