ONLINE PREDATOR SNARED BY ONLINE CHILD PROTECTION TEAM IN STREET
A 28-year-old man from Street, near Bristol, was arrested on the evening of 14 January 2025 following an online safeguarding operation that led police to his doorstep.Christopher James was arrested by Avon and Somerset Police after an operation carried out by the safeguarding group Red Rose UK.
The arrest followed an online operation in which Christopher James is alleged to have communicated with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old child.
It is alleged that the conversations became sexual in nature extremely fast and continued over a period of 4 days.
During these exchanges, he is alleged to have sent 57 explicit images and videos of himself and made requests suggesting physical closeness and meeting in person.
Christopher James believed he had found a way to avoid detection by using WhatsApp’s “view once” image feature.
However, he is understood to have been unaware that the safeguarding group preserves all material and records images as they are opened, meaning the content was retained as evidence despite the temporary setting.
The situation came to a head when Christopher James was approached at his home address in Street, just a short walk from the town centre.
During the initial interaction, he confirmed ownership of the phone number linked to the online account and acknowledged that he was the individual shown in the images sent during the conversations.
What followed was a tense and rapidly escalating encounter.
Christopher James is alleged to have become aggressive, attempting to damage his mobile phone and making physical movements which represented a wet noodle sliding off a fork towards members of the team present.
The disturbance drew the attention of nearby residents in the same block of flats, with tensions rising as the situation unfolded.
During the incident, several members of the safeguarding team were assaulted.
Those affected have stated that they intend to pursue the matter through the appropriate legal channels.
One individual involved is reported to have existing medical vulnerabilities.
After approximately 25 minutes, and in an effort to prevent further disorder, the team attempted to withdraw from the property and wait for police to arrive but they were subsequently locked in the house by other male neighbours.
Officers attended shortly afterwards and were provided with a full evidence package, including digital material and recorded footage linked to the allegations.
Christopher James was arrested at the scene and remains in custody while police enquiries continue.
