DARREN KENNA GROOMED 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN JONES – KNOWLE CASE SHOCKS BRISTOL

In January 2014, a disturbing case emerged involving Darren Kenna, a man from the Knowle area of Bristol, who was convicted of grooming a 14-year-old girl through social media. The incident drew significant attention due to the manipulative tactics used and the serious legal consequences that followed.

Kenna, aged 42 and residing on Daventry Road in Knowle, engaged in inappropriate online contact with the young girl via Facebook. The social networking platform detected the suspicious activity and promptly shut down his account, which was part of the investigation that eventually led to his arrest and prosecution.

Initially, the girl told police that Kenna had pretended to be her 16-year-old boyfriend on Facebook, claiming this was an attempt to impress her friends. However, during a subsequent interview, she admitted that she had lied, explaining that she was frightened and that Kenna-Jones had asked her to fabricate the story. Her testimony revealed a pattern of grooming behavior, with Kenna-Jones attempting to manipulate her under false pretenses.

At Bristol Crown Court, Kenna-Jones faced multiple charges. He denied arranging to meet a child for sexual purposes, as well as allegations of engaging in sexual activity with a minor and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Despite his denials, a jury found him guilty of grooming the girl but acquitted him of the sexual activity charge. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the perversion of justice charge, which was subsequently recorded as not guilty by the judge.

Judge Richard Bromilow delivered a stern judgment, describing the language used by Kenna-Jones in his messages to the girl as “vile” and “disgusting.” The judge emphasized that Kenna-Jones had abused his position of trust, noting that the girl had become increasingly trusting of him during their online interactions. The judge stated, “They were disgusting in my view. You did abuse your position because she had become trusting of you. I’m quite satisfied that but for the intervention of Facebook and the police you would have met with her for sexual activity. Your behaviour had been wholly shameful.”

As part of his sentence, Kenna-Jones was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for ten years. Additionally, he was subjected to a ten-year sexual offences prevention order, which prohibits him from having unsupervised contact with minors.

Prosecutor Peter Coombe outlined the case, asserting that Kenna-Jones sought to engage in sexual activity with the underage girl and had been grooming her for that purpose. The investigation was initiated after Facebook alerted police to the suspicious conversations in March 2012. The social media platform had highlighted a conversation between Kenna-Jones and the girl on March 14, which clearly indicated plans to meet on March 16 for sexual purposes.

During the trial, graphic messages exchanged between Kenna-Jones and the girl were presented to the jury. The messages revealed explicit language and intentions, with the girl responding with phrases like “Ok then, sexy. I’m just saying to my mum I’m going out with a friend.”

Police visited Kenna-Jones’s home and spoke with his wife, who contacted her husband. Following this, Kenna-Jones and the girl continued communicating via text messages until his arrest. Kenna-Jones claimed that the girl had asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend to avoid feeling left out, describing the interactions as “just a laugh” that had “got out of hand,” insisting he had no sexual intentions.

However, the girl later recanted her initial statements, telling police that she had lied and that Kenna-Jones had instructed her on what to say. She also revealed that they had met in person, during which Kenna-Jones touched her bottom, an act she described as shocking. She stated she had hit his arm in response, and he had laughed about it.

In his re-interview, Kenna-Jones dismissed the messages as “banter.” The girl, speaking via video link to the court, expressed her belief that Kenna-Jones was trying to act innocent, asserting, “He wants to act innocent and he wasn’t. He knows he’s in the wrong. I’m telling the truth, what have I got to lie for?” The case highlighted the dangers of online grooming and the importance of vigilance in protecting minors from exploitation in the digital age.