Teacher, 48, sent sex messages to ‘12-year-old girl’
ASCHOOLTEACHER was caught sending sexual messages to someone he thought was a 12-year-old girl, a court heard.
Barry Lander, 48, began to message a young girl named on a chat room when in fact it was an undercover police officer.
Yesterday, Caernarfon Crown Court heard how the teacher and former police officer sent sexual messages to the girl’s account over a two-week period in October 2019, culminating in suggestions of the pair meeting up in Cardiff.
Despite being told the girl’s age messages read in court heard how Lander had referred to kissing her neck and touching her nipples as he moved his hands “down”.
During an earlier trial, Lander, from Anglesey, denied his behaviour, claiming that he knew all along that the account was a “vigilante” and that he was “stringing” the account along. But he was convicted of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity by a jury.
At yesterday’s hearing Simon Mintz, prosecuting, said the messages culminated in an exchange on October 22 in which the conversation turned to “what would happen if they met up in Cardiff.”
Asking what the girl would do in response to him touching her, the undercover police officer replied: “Just lie there lol.” Lander replied: “I hoped you would say you would open your legs lol.”
In the hearing it was also heard that when the police officer stopped replying to Lander the teacher continued to send messages.
It was said that Lander had potential work plans to visit Cardiff in November 2019 although a meeting with the girl had not been arranged. Mr Mintz also said that Lander’s messages “fell short” of referring to sexual penetration.
In his mitigation, Matthew Dunford, defending, stressed that Lander “had already paid a very heavy price irrespective of the court sentence”. He added: “He has lost his good name, as the court knows. It appears that he may have lost his wife - one hopes that is not the case.”
Mr Dunford also asked the judge to take into consideration the fact Lander was speaking to an undercover police officer and not a young girl.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge David Hale said Lander had joined a chat room while “perhaps at his lowest ebb” and began to chat with the account.
From there Lander had suggested the conversation move onto Skype “which of course the police officer was happy to do”.
Judge Hale said: “You are fixated by your contention that you realised straightaway that this was a vigilante and no doubt you have gone through the transcript time and time again not only before the trial but since finding different pieces of syntax to support your conspiracy.
“What you overlook, perhaps, is the ease with which you used phrases to steer the conversation towards a sexual matter. They are your phrases throughout.”
He added: “I don’t believe for a minute you thought this was a vigilante. You didn’t think about anything about this conversation with a young girl culminating in the possibility of going to meet in Cardiff where you knew you had to go as part of your employment in the November.”
In total Lander, of Bron y Graig, Bodedern, was sentenced to two years in prison, half of which will be served in custody before he is released on licence.
A sexual harm prevention order will also be put in place, lasting for 10 years, and Lander will be placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years barring him from working with children.