He was surprised to be arrested and surprised to learn that it was an undercover police officer, Hull Crown Court heard
An internet pervert exchanged explicit sexualised messages during a series of “sinister” encrypted interactions with someone that he thought was a single mother who had a seven-year-old daughter. Anthony Hales earlier communicated with the woman on a social networking site for the “fetish and kink community”.
But he got a nasty shock when he suddenly discovered the woman and the girl did not even exist and that really it was an undercover police officer, Hull Crown Court heard. Hales, 66, of Hessle, admitted publishing an obscene article, involving an internet conversation about the rape of a seven-year-old child, between February 12 and March 30, 2023.
He also admitted two offences of making indecent images of children and another of possessing extreme pornographic images of bestiality. Judge Mark Bury said that the offences came to the attention of the police because there was a covert online operation involving a decoy profile of a single mother with a seven-year-old daughter. “You interacted with that decoy for about a month or two on online platforms,” said Judge Bury.
Hales used a social networking site for what the police described as for the “fetish and kink community” and he interacted with the decoy woman for a while before moving over to an end-to-end encrypted site, which was “much more sinister”. He asked the fake woman whether she had ever had any sexual interaction with her daughter and whether anyone else ever done so.
Hales asked whether the girl was “ready” and made arrangements for a meeting. He claimed that he had sexual relations with a previous mother and her 14-year-old daughter.
“There is no evidence that you had,” said Judge Bury. “That was simply fantasy on your part.” Decisions were made about meeting up and there was a confirmed time and meeting place.
“You didn’t turn up to it,” said Judge Bury. “There was further talk of a meeting but no further meeting was ever arranged. Then you cut off contact with her. You voluntarily desisted. You were arrested about a month later.”
The indecent images were found, including one in Category B and two in Category C. There were 321 extreme images. Hales was interviewed. “You said that this was pure fantasy and you knew that this was a fake account,” said Judge Bury.
“It may well be that you came to believe that but I am not convinced that you did at the start,” said Judge Bury. “You deny that you have a sexual interest in children. Most people in your circumstances do say that. I am not so convinced myself.
“The evidence tends to suggest that you do have a sexual interest in children but you have never acted upon it to the point where you have had contact with, let alone abused, a child. The probation service don’t believe you are a risk of doing so.”
Ben Hammersley, mitigating, said that Hales had shown distorted behaviour that needed to be addressed and there was help available that had been seen to work on others. It was not readily available in custody.
This would give him a golden opportunity to engage with the probation service and he was eager to do this. Hales was surprised to be arrested and surprised to learn that it was an undercover police officer.
He knew that the other person was fake but he did not realise that it was undercover police. “He didn’t realise that it was the sort of thing that the police do,” said Mr Hammersley.
Hales, who is retired, was given 15 days’ rehabilitation, a 26-day probation service treatment programme and a three-month monitoring order. He was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order and he must register as a sex offender for five years.
“Breach of them will result in you serving time in prison,” said Judge Bury.
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