DAVID HACK FROM CHURCHSTOW CAUGHT IN PAEDOPHILE HUNT AT KINGSBRIDGE SUPERMARKET

In a disturbing case that highlights the dangers of online grooming and vigilant community efforts, David Hack, a 34-year-old resident of Churchstow, was caught attempting to meet an underage girl at a supermarket in Kingsbridge. The incident unfolded in January 2018 when Hack believed he was about to meet a young girl named Felicity, whom he had been communicating with over the internet.

Hack had engaged in online conversations with a profile under the name Felicity30 on popular dating and social networking sites Badoo and Hot or Not. During these chats, he was told that Felicity was 15 years old. Hack claimed that his intentions were to provide her with sex education, a statement he later made during police interviews. However, the reality was far more sinister, as he had been lured into a trap set by a female paedophile hunter from Wales, who had created the fictitious profile to catch potential offenders.

The online exchanges between Hack and the fake profile became increasingly sexualized after their initial contact on November 7. Hack suggested that Felicity should touch herself sexually and even sent an explicit image, which he claimed was of his penis. Despite these explicit exchanges, he did not explicitly suggest they have full sexual intercourse when they arranged to meet. Instead, he discussed waiting until her 16th birthday, indicating a disturbing awareness of her age and a desire to delay sexual activity until she was of legal age.

On November 18, Hack traveled to the supermarket in Kingsbridge, intending to meet Felicity. Unbeknownst to him, members of the community group Plymouth Against Paedophiles, who had been alerted by the paedophile hunter Ms. Jackie Kempson from Wales, were monitoring the situation. They intercepted Hack at the scene and detained him until police arrived. The group’s intervention prevented what could have been a serious criminal offense.

Following his arrest, Hack was taken into custody and later appeared before Exeter Crown Court. He admitted to attempting to meet a child following grooming and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity. The court heard that Hack was living in a small village in the South Hams, where he was the full-time carer for his seriously ill grandmother, a circumstance that the judge acknowledged when considering his sentence.

Judge Erik Salomonsen sentenced Hack to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years. Additionally, Hack was ordered to participate in a sex offenders’ rehabilitation program and complete 10 days of community activities. He was also mandated to sign the sex offenders’ register for a decade and was placed under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which restricts his contact with minors and allows authorities to monitor his online activity closely.

The judge emphasized the seriousness of Hack’s actions, stating, “There came a time when you went to Morrisons in Kingsbridge intending to make contact and meet. The purpose for that in your mind was unclear and there is no specific indication of sexual activity when you arranged to meet. In fact, Felicity did not exist and had been created by a member of a paedophile hunting group. You were set up and succumbed to what you saw online.”

Prosecutor Caroline Bolt detailed how the online profile was created by Ms. Kempson, which attracted Hack’s interest. The chat logs revealed that their conversations became sexualized after initial contact, leading Hack to suggest a meeting at the supermarket in Kingsbridge. The community group Plymouth Against Paedophiles, alerted by Ms. Kempson, intervened and detained Hack until police arrived, preventing a potential crime and highlighting the importance of community vigilance in protecting vulnerable children.