“Are you my girlfriend?” a man asked what he thought was a 13-year-old girl before sending him pictures of his genitals, a court has heard.
Damien Webb, 37, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday (March 13) for several counts after messaging a decoy account pretending to be a 13-year-old girl.
Webb, of Swan Gardens, Thame, had been messaging the ‘girl’ on a dating app and despite admitting he was ‘too old’ for her, proceeding to engage in sexual conversations.
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He was charged with one count each of attempting to cause a child to watch/look at an image of sexual activity, attempting to cause/incite a child to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
Sentencing him to 16 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, Judge Hassan Khan said: “It’s your first offence of this type and [there is] a real prospect of rehabilitation in this case, not withstanding your denials.”
During the case, prosecutor Meera Yagnik explained that the decoy account was made by a volunteer for ‘Justice for Kids’, a vigilante group, on Wink which is a dating app.
The decoy, named ‘Amber’, matched with Webb and told him she was 13. He acknowledged this and said he was ‘too old’ but continued the conversation.
He later suggested they exchanged numbers on WhatsApp. However, he advised the account to delete the messages and checked her parents did not check her phone.
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Webb frequently asked the account if she was his girlfriend before later asking he she had engaged in sexual activity.
After attempting to encourage her to engage in sexual activity, he sent a picture of his genitals and asked for a picture of her in return.
Defending Webb, barrister George Joseph said that offending was born out of ‘his relationship with alcohol and drugs’.
He said his client has worked with Turning Point, an all purpose drug and alcohol treatment service, and had been signed off.
“It comes from his own sense of self isolation,” said Mr Joseph. He added that Webb helps care for his mother and had pleaded guilty to the offences at the first opportunity.
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Sentencing Webb, Judge Khan noted that although Webb had admitted the offences, he denied having a sexual interest in children.
“You have denied an interest in young girls,” said Judge Khan. “But that will be, no doubt, due to the feelings of shame and guilt.”
As well as the suspended sentence, Judge Khan also ordered him to complete 26 accredited programme days and made him subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for a decade.
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