GRANDAD CAUGHT BY PAEDO HUNTERS AVOIDS JAIL TERM
MAN AVOIDS JAIL OVER OFFENCES
A MARRIED grandad who sought out girls on the internet was caught when he unwittingly messaged three paedophile hunter decoys instead.
Peter Hargrave was undeterred when told by three contacts, posing as children, they were aged 12, 13 and 14 years – and embarked on sexualised conversations.
He told the person he thought was 13 their contact was “secret, but naughty”. When she asked if it would cause a problem to meet up, he replied: “Only if your family know, baby.”
The defendant asked the “girls” for their vital statistics, saying he wanted to buy them underwear in the event of meeting up.
Hargrave, 62, who claimed to be in his 40s during online chats, asked for photos of them in their pyjamas and sent images of himself in boxer shorts.
Gregor Purcell, prosecuting, told Leicester Crown Court that Hargraves asked the person he thought was a 12-year-old about her breasts and boyfriends. He told her to “try sex,” saying she would “enjoy it” and offered to be her boyfriend.
Mr Purcell said: “She asked if she was too young and he replied ‘not if your parents don’t know.’ “
The third decoy, purporting to be a 14-year-old, was asked to send him “full body” photographs. He offered to take a shower with her and asked to meet her at lunchtime.
The prosecutor said paedophile hunters conducted an “organised confrontation” resulting in his arrest.
Mr Purcell added: “The defendant said, when questioned, while he took gratification from what he was doing, he was trying to educate them about what might be about to come.
“He said he was offering educational support for teenage girls.”
The defendant’s then matrimonial home in Newfoundpool, Leicester, was searched. His internet devices were inspected and there was no evidence of any indecent images of children, said the prosecutor.
The court heard the defendant had no previous convictions.
Hargrave, who ended up homeless afterwards and shunned by his family, was said to have “lost everything” because of his offending.
He pleaded guilty at the city’s magistrates’ court, in August, to three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child – one charge for each decoy account – over several days in October and November, 2018.
He was committed to the crown court for sentence.
Ben Gow, mitigating, said: “Until these matters he’d managed to get through his life as a law-abiding citizen. He suffers from cognitive distortions, made plain by the online conversations. The consequences have been severe and he’s paid a high price for his foolish and potentially dangerous behaviour.
“He’d been married since 1988 and following his arrest he had to move out of the marital home and separate from his wife.
“It caused considerable problems in the local community with attempts to smash the windows and being abused on the streets. His sons haven’t had any contact with him.
“He’s essentially been homeless until recently, living in hostels and sleeping in churches.”
Mr Gow said the pre-sentence report calculated the defendant to have a low risk of offending.
Sentencing, Recorder Stuart
Sprawson said: “You attempted to contact children who turned out to be three adult decoys.
“You used highly sexualised language to engage in long conversations, making sexual remarks and offered to meet them and have relationships with them – it was highly inappropriate.
“You were remorseful in your interview. But you said you did it for educational purposes – it’s nonsense.”
Hargrave was given a 10-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, with 100 hours of unpaid work and a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement. He was placed on a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and will have to enlist on a sex offender register for the same period.