JUDGE TELLS ANDREW DUNCAN OF WIRRAL HE'S A 'MARKED MAN' AFTER FACEBOOK GROOMING CASE

In July 2011, a judge at Liverpool Crown Court issued a stark warning to Andrew Duncan, a 40-year-old man from Wirral, who had publicly admitted on Facebook that he was probably a paedophile. The court heard that Duncan's computer, seized during a police raid in July 2009, contained 247 indecent images of children, all classified in the lowest category and involving posing.

Police investigations revealed that Duncan not only downloaded these images but also attempted to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex. Michael Stephenson, prosecuting, said that Duncan had engaged in inappropriate exchanges with a woman on Facebook, in which he admitted to liking looking at pictures of young girls and acknowledged he was probably a paedophile.

Police raided Duncan’s home on Comely Bank Road, Wallasey, and found the images on his computer. Experts confirmed the images' categorization and also discovered that Duncan attempted to contact a mother and her 14-year-old daughter from London, requesting inappropriate images from the girl. He also sent emails proposing he would travel to London to have sex with the mother with the daughter watching, and to have sex with the girl.

Duncan made three trips to London to meet the pair, but they did not appear for the meetings. Duncan admitted during police interviews that he had received and viewed images of the girl.

He pleaded guilty to a sexual grooming offence and 15 counts of making indecent images. In her judgment, Judge David Fletcher told Duncan he is now a "marked man," stating, “Police are aware of your internet activities and will find out if you attempt anything similar again.”

The judge imposed a three-year community order requiring supervision and attendance at the Northumbria Sex Offenders programme, and ordered Duncan to register as a sex offender for five years. Additionally, his conviction will be reported to the Independent Safeguarding Authority, which will prevent him from working with youth groups, including the theatre group he previously worked with.