Family man caught out in ‘girl’ chat escapes jail

A ‘DEVIANT’ family man with a sexual ‘interest in children’ was given a final chance to curb his lust for under age girls after he was exposed in an online chat by an undercover police officer.

‘Nosey’ Andrew Butcher, 52, struck up a chat with what he thought was a girl called Kaitlyn on a teenage chat platform, with him declaring: ‘I like to make girls get sexy.’

But Butcher, wearing a dark suit and armed with a large bag for jail during his sentencing appearance at Portsmouth Crown Court, was in fact incriminating himself talking to an officer.

After striking up the chat on July 10, 2020, Butcher moved the conversation onto Snapchat where he turned the topic sexual.

The pervert began his sordid probe by asking if the girl had a boyfriend and ‘what she had done’ with him before becoming more sexual in his interrogation.

Butcher asked: ‘Did you touch him? Did he put his hand in your knickers?’

When asked why he wanted to know, Butcher said ‘I’m nosey’ before adding: ‘I like to think about you doing things with boys.’

During the chat the age disparity came up with Butcher asking: ‘You ok about me liking girls your age?’

Prosecutor Edward Hand added: ‘He believed her to be a young girl.’

Police investigations revealed Butcher was behind the conversations with him arrested at his address on September 12, 20220.

A mobile phone and laptop were seized before Butcher confessed to having indecent images of children.

He was found to have 185 Category A, 173 Category B and 615 Category C.

The court heard Butcher, of previous good character, had since given up a well paid job to work in a warehouse to be close to his family who had ‘not given up hope’ on him.

Judge Richard Shepherd said: ‘Your deviant interest in children has torn your good reputation to shreds.’

Butcher, of Cranford Road, Petersfield, was handed a 20-month jail term suspended for 24 months.

He will also have to complete 30 rehabilitation days and pay costs of £350.

Butcher was given a sexual harm prevention order and sexual notification requirements for 10 years.

He admitted a single charge of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and three counts of making indecent images of children.