Derbyshire man jailed for trying to groom a girl under the age of 16
Alexander Hall will spend 2 years and 6 months in prison
A Derbyshire man has ben jailed for trying to groom a child online and arranging to meet up for sex in Nottinghamshire.
The person Alexander Hall was chatting to, made it clear they were 14-years-old.
That did not stop the 48-year-old who sent a stream of explicit messages to the person he met in an online chatroom.
He was in fact interacting with a decoy account set up by an online child activist group.
The 48-year-old from New Street in South Normanton was later arrested at a Nottinghamshire pub he had agreed to meet the girl at.
Hall was charged with attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
He was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison. He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order until further notice.
Detective Constable Jack Stout, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“Hall may have been engaging in sexual communications with an adult using a decoy account, but he didn’t know that.
“In his head, the explicit things he’d sent were to a 14-year-old girl and all for his own sick sexual gratification.
“These messages and Hall’s campaign of grooming continued for several months, at which point he arranged a meeting so he could make his depraved fantasies happen.
“Thankfully, the person he was talking to wasn’t who he thought, while he was instead met by waiting police officers and arrested.
“We’re pleased to see Hall’s been sent to prison and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, so we can protect children from him when he’s released from custody.”