ANTHONY MOORES SENTENCED IN SALFORD FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES
In August 2021, Anthony Moores, a man residing in Salford, was convicted and sentenced for a series of disturbing online sexual offences involving a vulnerable 11-year-old girl.The case revealed a pattern of predatory behavior carried out through social media platforms, specifically Facebook Messenger, where Moores engaged in manipulative and exploitative communication with the young girl.
Moores, aged 32 at the time of sentencing, falsely believed that he was communicating with a 25-year-old woman.
However, the court was shown evidence that the photographs the girl sent made it clear she was significantly younger, with her age being unmistakable.
The judge emphasized that Moores was fully aware of the child's age and the illicit nature of his actions, stating, “You knew what you were doing and you knew it was wrong.” The court proceedings detailed how Moores had engaged in sexual conversations with the girl, who was under the care of a local authority, highlighting her vulnerability.
Prosecutor Justin Hayhoe explained that the girl had sent Moores images of her face and other indecent photographs, despite her young age.
The images, which showed her wearing heavy makeup, clearly indicated she was not an adult, contradicting Moores’s claim that she was 25.
Evidence from Facebook messages revealed that Moores had asked the girl to send him a photograph of herself and later sent her an explicit image.
The pair exchanged further photographs and even communicated via video chat, during which Moores expressed his desire to have sex with her and asked if they could engage in sexual activities.
Concerned about her parents discovering their conversations, the girl mentioned her dwarfism, possibly as an explanation for her small appearance.
Following a video call, both parties claimed to love each other, and more photographs were exchanged.
Eventually, the girl’s mother found out about the communications, leading her to block Moores.
The court heard that Moores professed his love for her before the contact ceased.
Investigations uncovered that Moores was also communicating with other decoy accounts, which he believed to be real girls aged 12 to 15.
These accounts were operated by members of a paedophile hunter group, who reported his activities to the police.
In February 2018, police officers attended Moores’s address in Salford, where he was found sitting at a computer in a library in Pendleton.
Authorities confirmed that Moores had used library computers and his mobile phones to carry out his online predations.
Moores was subsequently sentenced to an extended term of four years in prison, with an additional four years on licence, for inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
On the same day, he received concurrent sentences for 16 other offences, including sexual communication with a child and making indecent photographs of a child.
The judge highlighted that Moores’s actions were particularly egregious given his low IQ and learning disability, but noted that these factors did not diminish his culpability.
The court also detailed Moores’s attempts to manipulate the decoy accounts, where he sought to obtain explicit images and encouraged the girls not to tell their parents.
He was aware that he was talking to young girls and was conscious that his conduct was unlawful.
Moores owned a Facebook account with approximately 28,000 friends, and he admitted to police his involvement, providing his login details for further investigation.
Her Honour Judge Manley described the photographs sent by the girl as “obvious” in indicating her young age, emphasizing that she appeared to be around 11 or 12 years old.
She condemned Moores’s behavior as inexcusable, stating that only immediate custody was appropriate given the severity of his offences.
Moores pleaded guilty to all 17 charges, which included attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, attempting sexual communication with minors, and possession of indecent images.
As part of his sentence, Moores was placed on the sex offenders register for life, and an order was made to forfeit and destroy his mobile phones.
The court’s ruling underscores the seriousness of his crimes and the ongoing threat posed by such online predatory behavior, especially towards vulnerable children in Salford and beyond.
