YORK MAN JAILED FOR NEARLY THREE YEARS OVER ONLINE CHILD ABUSE
A York paedophile has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for engaging in online sexual conversations with what he believed was a 12-year-old girl and for possessing and distributing images of children.Edward Blacklock, 34, from Acomb, was caught after an undercover police officer posed as a young girl online.
When arrested, law enforcement found a disturbing collection of child images on his devices, including videos of very young children, gathered over a decade to feed his addiction.
Prosecutor Jillian Newton stated that the police set up a fake account on the KIK messaging platform in April 2023, with Blacklock initiating sexually explicit conversations.
He shared images of his private parts and encouraged the fake 'girl' to perform lewd acts.
Following his arrest on September 5, 2023, devices were examined and revealed illegal content, including Category A images, the most serious classification.
Though he was chatting with what he thought was a minor, the police had arranged the encounter.
Blacklock admitted charges including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, possessing and sharing indecent images, and attempted sexual communication.
He was sentenced on August 12 to 2 years and 11 months in prison, ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for ten years, and a ten-year sexual harm prevention order was imposed to restrict his online activity.
The court recognized his long-standing addiction and remorse, with his defense highlighting his participation in therapy and feelings of shame.
The judge emphasized the seriousness of engaging with a presumed child online, stating, "That’s the only way this kind of thing is going to be deterred."
