ANTONY TURNER FROM EXMOUTH AND TOPSHAM CAUGHT IN POLICE STING AT DERBY AND EXETER

In a series of disturbing incidents spanning several years, Antony Turner, a known sex offender from Exmouth and Topsham, has been repeatedly caught engaging in illegal online activities involving minors, leading to multiple convictions and ongoing legal actions.

One of the most recent cases occurred in June 2021, when Turner was apprehended by Derbyshire police during an undercover operation. At the time, he was still serving a prison sentence under license and was subject to strict conditions that aimed to regulate his online interactions. Despite these restrictions, Turner was deceived by an officer posing as a 13-year-old girl named Holly on the Chat IW platform. The police officer had created a false profile to lure him into conversation, which he then continued on Snapchat.

During their chat, Turner expressed a willingness to travel to Derby to engage in sexual activity with the fictitious minor. When the decoy mentioned her lack of experience, Turner responded, “It is okay. I can teach you,” and further added, “I want to f*** you,” revealing his intent and disregard for the restrictions placed upon him. His actions prompted his immediate arrest, and he was subsequently jailed for breaching his license conditions.

Turner’s criminal history is extensive. He was first jailed in 2015 for attempting to meet a child he had contacted online. His previous offenses also include a 2019 conviction for similar conduct, which occurred while he was supposed to be attending a Sex Offenders’ Treatment Programme. Despite these convictions, Turner continued to breach legal orders designed to prevent him from contacting minors.

He was under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which prohibited him from communicating with children and mandated that he inform authorities of all internet-enabled devices he possessed. However, Turner violated this order by acquiring a phone that he did not register with the police, although he used another device that was registered, allowing authorities to trace his online activities swiftly. As a result, he was recalled to serve the remainder of a 20-month sentence, which he has been serving in prison ever since.

At Exeter Crown Court, Judge Stephen Climie sentenced Turner to a term of one year and eight months in prison, along with a four-year extended license. The judge emphasized the seriousness of Turner’s online misconduct, stating, “Your offending on this occasion was online activity. You believed you were communicating with a female child but in fact it turned out to be an undercover officer.”

Earlier, in June 2019, Turner was involved in another disturbing incident where he believed he was sending a pornographic video to a young girl, but it was actually an undercover police officer. This led to his conviction and a subsequent order for him to attend a sex offenders’ treatment course. Turner, then 24 and formerly residing on Exeter Road, Topsham, had already been on the sex offenders register and subject to a SOPO following a previous conviction for grooming and attempting to meet a 15-year-old girl he met online.

During the 2019 investigation, Turner made contact with a police decoy posing as a 12-year-old girl. Between October 31 and December 1, he exchanged messages encouraging her to engage in sexual acts, sent explicit videos, and asked her to send him sexually graphic material. His actions resulted in a community order, with Judge David Evans stressing the importance of treatment and rehabilitation, which could not be completed during a jail sentence.

Turner’s criminal activities date back to at least 2014, when he was found with child abuse images on a tablet at a therapeutic hostel in Topsham. At that time, he was ordered to receive supervision and treatment, acknowledging the severity of his offenses involving children as young as two or three years old. The images found included some of the most extreme types, and Turner was convicted of five counts of making indecent images, receiving a three-year community order.

Throughout these incidents, Turner’s behavior has demonstrated a disturbing pattern of grooming, possession of illegal images, and breaches of court orders. His actions have caused significant harm and distress to victims and have prompted ongoing legal proceedings to ensure he remains under supervision and receives appropriate treatment to prevent further offenses.