He was talking to a police decoy
A seedy online predator sent an explicit sexualised video with “heavy breathing” to a 12-year-old girl and shamelessly asked her for topless pictures and revealing images of herself in her underwear. Shaun Hatfield was “made well aware” that she was only 12 but that did not stop him telling her that he had a vehicle and could drive out to meet up with her.
But he got a nasty shock when he discovered to his horror that the girl did not even exist and that she was really an undercover police officer, Hull Crown Court heard. Hatfield, 49, of Easthorpe, Market Weighton, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a child to watch or look at sexual activity between March 29 and April 26, 2023.
Neil Coxon, prosecuting, said that an undercover police officer created an online profile for a 12-year-old girl and Hatfield exchanged messages with the decoy girl for four weeks. He made explicit sexual suggestions to the girl, even though he was “made well aware” that she was only 12 and was supposedly at school.
Hatfield sent explicit pictures and a video of himself involved in sexual behaviour. In the video, he was calling the decoy girl’s name – suggesting that it was him in the video because he knew her name – and there was “heavy breathing” in it.
“He makes persistent requests for her to send topless photographs and photographs of her in her underwear,” said Mr Coxon. “He asks if he could touch her everywhere. He wants her to send images.”
Hatfield made other explicit suggestions. “He makes reference to him having a vehicle and to them meeting up but nothing came of that,” said Mr Coxon. Hatfield had previous convictions for violence and driving matters but nothing of a sexual nature and none since 2012.
Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Hatfield pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. “There is no justification for going online and speaking to what he thought was a 12-year-old girl,” said Miss Scott.
“This is a defendant who is particularly disgusted in himself. He is absolutely mortified that this offending has ruined his life. He is a low risk of contact offending.
“He has proved over the last couple of years that he can keep out of trouble. He is in full-time employment.
“He offered to resign to his employers as soon as these offences came to light but his employer asked him to stay on, such was the high regard for him.”
Judge John Thackray KC told Hatfield: “Over a four-week period in 2023, you thought that you were engaging with a 12-year-old girl. In fact, it was a decoy police officer. Over that four-week period, you engaged in numerous sexual conversations.
“You talked of meeting up but, in fact, that didn’t take place. In fact, the child did not exist and so there has been no harm. There could have been harm, lifelong damage to a 12-year-old girl. Sexual images were sent. You were soliciting images.”
Hatfield, who had been on bail, was jailed for 16 months. He was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order and he must register as a sex offender for 10 years. “Ultimately, only appropriate punishment can be achieved by way of an immediate custodial sentence,” said Judge Thackray.