HINGHAM MAN JAILED FOR SENDING INDECENT IMAGES TO GIRLS ACROSS NORFOLK
A 60-year-old man who sent indecent images of himself to teenage girls across Norfolk using a messaging app while pretending to be in 20s has been jailed for four years.Bryan Waldron was jailed for a series of sex offences including distributing and possessing indecent images and inciting girls to engage in sexual activity.
Waldron, of Hall Lane, Hingham, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to 10 offences in total- three counts of possessing an indecent image, distributing an indecent image, four counts of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and two counts of inciting a girl to engage in pornography.
The charges related to incidents which happened between January 2013 and July 2014, where Waldron made contact with teenage girls using a messaging app.
He would chat to them and send explicit images, despite many of the victims having previously stated they were under 16.
A police investigation was launched after a teenage schoolgirl was overheard talking about receiving an explicit message by one of her teachers.
As a result of enquiries police seized and examined Waldron's phone and computer, which revealed further victims from across the county and a number of indecent images were also discovered.
Waldron was arrested and during police interview admitted to sending explicit images but claimed he did not the recipients were under age.
In total 46 victims were identified.
Waldron appeared at Norwich Crown Court yesterday and was jailed for four years and he will then have six years on licence.
He was placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Nicky Gaughan from the Safeguarding Children Online Team (SCOLT) said: 'This case highlights issues of online grooming facing children today.
We would encourage parents to foster responsible use of online platforms, be aware of who their child is talking to and raise awareness of the dangers.' Norfolk Constabulary set up SCOLT in June 2014 in a bid to investigate on-line grooming and possession and distribution of illegal images.
