Man admits grooming Kayleigh Haywood
It was just days before she was murdered
A 20-YEAR-OLD man has admitted sending sexually explicit messages to Kayleigh Haywood just days before she was raped and murdered by another man.
The 15-year-old schoolgirl was groomed online by Luke Harlow in November 2015 before being raped and murdered by his neighbour Stephen Beadman on November 15 2015.
Bruce Cordwell, 20, of no fixed address, sent messages to Kayleigh over WhatsApp and Facebook trying to arrange a sexual encounter between November 10 and 13 2015.
He pleaded guilty to arranging to meet Kayleigh, with the intention of carrying out sexual intercourse, not reasonably believing she was aged 16 or over.
Appearing at Leicester Crown Court, Cordwell, who has two bright red lipstick kisses tattooed on the right side of his neck, wore a black top with camouflage sleeves and denim jeans.
He appeared distressed throughout the hearing.
Cordwell originally denied the charge and the case had been adjourned for a jury trial to take place today – but he changed his plea to admit the offence at the 11th hour.
He maintained a denial to causing Kayleigh to look at a sexually explicit image – but Lyndsey Naylor, prosecuting, said the defence accepted the sexual image he sent to her formed part of the circumstances of the charge that he has now admitted.
In an earlier hearing, Cordwell’s barrister, Eugene Hickey, made it absolutely clear there was “no suggestion” that his client had anything to do with Kayleigh’s disappearance, false imprisonment or murder.
He said that “like many young people” Cordwell was chatting to “lots of girls” on Facebook and WhatsApp at about that time – and Kayleigh was one of several people he had been messaging.
Judge Philip Head adjourned the case until next month for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
Remanding Cordwell, who was 19 at the time of the offence, back into custody, the judge said: “If you receive a custodial sentence the time you’ve spent on remand will count towards that sentence.”
Last July, Kayleigh’s killer, landscape gardener Stephen Beadman, who raped and murdered her after holding her prisoner, was given a life sentence to serve a minimum of 35 years.
Kayleigh’s body was found by a lake near Sence Valley Forest Park, Ibstock, on November 18, five days after she went missing from her home in Measham, Leicestershire – after being dropped off outside Ibstock Community College.
Beadman, of George Avenue, Ibstock, admitted murdering Kayleigh.
She was groomed on Facebook by Beadman’s neighbour, Luke Harlow, who lured her to his home.
Beadman, 29, and Harlow, 28, were both convicted by a jury of falsely imprisoning Kayleigh in the hours before she was killed on farmland in the early hours of November 15.
Harlow, who was jailed for 12 years, pleaded guilty to grooming Kayleigh and engaging in sexual activity with her.