ANDREW SHELTON FROM HALESOWEN JAILED FOR SEXUAL CHAT WITH YOUNG GIRLS IN BIRMINGHAM

In September 2018, a disturbing case emerged involving Andrew Shelton, a former assistant head teacher from Halesowen, who was convicted of engaging in highly inappropriate and illegal online activities involving young girls. Shelton, aged 52, was found to have been involved in a series of online conversations that were both disgusting and deeply troubling, centered around sexual content and exploitation.

It was revealed that Shelton had attempted to lure girls aged between 10 and 15 into explicit chat room discussions, encouraging them to send him indecent images via Skype. These conversations, which he found to be a source of personal gratification, took place over several years and involved language that was both filthy and repulsive, especially considering he believed he was communicating with minors. The court heard that Shelton targeted these vulnerable girls for his own sexual gratification, making inappropriate comments such as telling a 12-year-old girl she was "hot and sexy as hell" and expressing a desire to "hold, stroke and teach her to enjoy her body."

His predatory behavior extended into his professional life, as he was working at Harborne Primary School in Birmingham at the time of some of these online interactions. The police investigation was triggered when authorities were alerted to his contact with a teenager over Skype during March and April of the previous year. Following this, law enforcement officers raided his residence on Woodman Close in Halesowen. During the search, they discovered a disturbing collection of 93 indecent images of young girls stored on his laptop. These images were believed to have been sent as a result of the internet conversations dating back to 2014, highlighting a pattern of systematic abuse over several years.

Andrew Shelton faced multiple charges, including attempted sexual communication with a child, inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and possessing indecent images of children. He admitted to eight charges in total. His actions were deemed to be highly serious, and on September 18, at Wolverhampton Crown Court, he was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison. The presiding judge, Judge Jinder Singh Boora, described Shelton’s conduct as systematic and spanning a lengthy period, emphasizing the disgusting and filthy language used during his online chats. The judge also remarked that Shelton, as a man who should have known better, had committed these offenses over several years.

The court was informed that Shelton made contact with multiple girls through various chat rooms, none of whom were pupils at the school where he was employed. Prosecutor Hugh O’Brien Quinn stated that Shelton deliberately targeted young girls for his own sexual gratification, inciting them to engage in sexual activities. One notable incident involved Shelton contacting a girl named Chelsea, who claimed to be 13 years old, on March 17 of the previous year. Shelton told her she was a "real stunner" and discussed sex with older men, fully aware that his actions were illegal and morally wrong. However, Shelton’s criminal activities were ultimately exposed when he contacted Chelsea, who was actually an undercover police officer. His arrest followed a police raid on his home on July 17 of the previous year, bringing his disturbing online behavior to an end.