PENSIONER ADMITS MULTIPLE CHILD SEX ABUSE OFFENCES
A pensioner who was caught sending explicit images and videos of himself engaged in sexual acts to a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to several charges.Adrian Webb, residing on Carriage Road in Northwich, appeared at Chester Magistrates Court on Tuesday, admitting to five counts of child sexual abuse.
The 71-year-old confessed that between February 2023 and June 2024, he engaged in various offences including encouraging a child to watch sexual acts, communicating sexually with a minor, and sending indecent images of his genitalia to cause concern.
In addition, Webb accepted two more charges related to possessing and creating indecent images of children.
Prosecutor Scott Woodward explained to the court that Webb interacted with an online decoy officer, who was pretending to be a 13-year-old girl.
He stated, “He asked for pictures of her in her school uniform and also sent photos and videos of his genitalia and performing a sex act.” The judge noted that sentencing would take place in the crown court.
Defence lawyer Richard Thomas emphasized the seriousness of the offences, stating, “The cumulative nature of these crimes necessitates a crown court trial.” He further requested that Webb be required to register as a sex offender within three days and asked for a pre-sentencing report to aid in sentencing.
Judge David Vaughan-Williams agreed with these requests and ordered the case to be heard at Chester Crown Court.
Webb was granted conditional bail with specific restrictions, including avoiding unsupervised contact with anyone under 18, not working in environments with access to minors, and remaining at his home address.
The court also mandated that Webb register as a convicted sex offender with police within three days in Northwich.
His sentencing is scheduled for April 14 at Chester Crown Court.
