MAN JAILED FOR ONLINE CHILD SEX OFFENCES
A man has received a nine-year prison sentence after committing online sexual offences involving three girls aged between eight and 14.Edward Durlik, aged 41 (born 08/01/1983), from Woking, created multiple counterfeit online profiles to gain the trust of his victims.
He intermittently impersonated an 11-year-old girl, a 13-year-old boy, and a 13-year-old girl, using photographs of a child known to him to support these fake personas.
In conversations with one victim, Durlik devised a points-based game encouraging the girl to send him photos throughout the day.
The photos were scored, with lower points assigned to normal images and higher points for more sexually explicit content.
If the victim ceased communication, Durlik would employ guilt and blame to persuade her to send additional images.
The police discovered the messages when a victim’s father found sexualised messages, images, and videos on his daughter’s phone.
Durlik was identified through mobile phone investigations and arrested in June 2023 on suspicion of inciting a child under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity.
A forensic analysis of his device uncovered 1,055 indecent images of children, including 258 in the most serious Category A, along with 296 Category B images and 501 Category C images.
It was also confirmed that 471 indecent images and videos had been shared with 39 different users online.
On 29 April 2024, Durlik was formally charged with multiple offences, including five counts of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity across 11 incidents, one count involving a girl under 16, and various other charges related to indecent images and sexual communication with minors.
During his sentencing on Friday, 14 February, at Guildford Crown Court, Judge Sellers labeled Durlik as “dangerous” because of the prolonged and planned nature of his crimes, as well as his manipulative tactics.
The court imposed an additional three-year extended licence, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, a Deprivation Order, and a lifetime registration on the Sex Offenders Register.
