Norfolk scout leader who shared explicit messages with boy jailed
Christopher Latimer was caught after a friend of the victim raised concerns
A Scout leader who shared sexually explicit messages with a teenage boy has been jailed for two years.
Christopher Latimer was caught after a friend of the victim raised concerns about messages being exchanged between the defendant and the child.
Detective Constable Steven Rush, of Norfolk Police, said Latimer, 36, abused his position to build a relationship with his victim.
Latimer, of Woodbastwick Road, Blofield, was sentenced at Norwich Crown Court to two years in prison for multiple sexual offences, Norfolk Police said.
The force said Latimer had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to engaging in sexual communication with a child, causing a child to watch a sexual act and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
The three charges related to one teenage boy, police said.
Latimer was also given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years, when he was sentenced on Monday.
He denied two counts of taking indecent images of a child, which the court ordered to lie on file.
Concerns were raised about Latimer in May 2021, and a police investigation established that Latimer had been sending the boy messages for between two and three years.
In early 2021, Latimer started to share sexually explicit content, including messages, pictures and videos, Norfolk Police said.
Detective Constable Steven Rush said: "Latimer abused a position of trust in order to build a relationship with his victim.
"He was well aware of the age of the boy he was talking to and ignored several safeguarding practices when committing these offences.
"I would like to commend the bravery of the young people who spoke up and assisted the police with their investigation.
"It was an incredibly difficult time for them and we could not have secured this outcome without them.
"I hope this sentence sends a message of how seriously these kinds of offences are taken and help bring some closure for the victim and his family."