‘Every parent’s worst nightmare’
VICTIMS PRAISED AS PERVERT WHO TRIED TO MEET GIRL, 15, IN HOTEL IS SENTENCED
A PERVERT snared by police exiting a train after booking a Teesside hotel to meet a child in has been caged for seven and a half years.
Christopher Laing, 38, had been initially bailed by Police Scotland after being found in possession of indecent images of two 14-year-old girls from the Cleveland Police area. Then in June 2023 he was arrested by officers when he travelled to the Teesside area in an attempt to meet up with a 15-year-old girl, after communicating with her sexually online.
He sent photographs of himself travelling on a train to Teesside in an attempt to meet with the child and had booked a hotel in the area.
After the girl informed her parents that he was travelling to the area, they alerted police who arrested Laing at the station as his train came in.
Laing’s mobile phone was seized by police as part of the investigation and during forensic examination of the device it was discovered that Laing had been in contact with multiple teenage girls across the country.
He attempted to goad the girls into sending indecent images of themselves to him for money and gifts.
When the children refused, he made threats to rape them. Officers found evidence on his laptop, that Laing had researched the addresses of his victims and knew where each of them lived. The defendant, who lives in Renfrewshire in Scotland, was found guilty at Teesside Crown Court of possession of 67 category C images of children; eight counts of making indecent images of children; seven counts of causing or inciting girls aged 13-15 into sexual activity; eight counts of sexual communication with a child and attempting to meet a child after grooming.
Victim impact statements read out to the court heard that one teenage victim no longer felt safe and worried every day that she would receive a message on her phone from Laing.
Her mental health had declined as she was taunted by the memory of Laing’s messages.
Another victim described how her confidence had been shattered, and was afraid to go to school, fearing that people knew about the messages that Laing had sent to her. During sentencing, Judge Carroll expressed concern regarding Laing’s use of the threat of rape against children in order to fulfil his sexual desires, describing Laing as “every parent’s worst nightmare”.
He also praised the bravery of the victims in coming forward.
Laing was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison and will not be eligible for parole until he has served five of these. He was further sentenced to another one year and eight months for possession of illicit images and sexual communication offences. He was also made subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, which limits his use of internet enabled devices.