GARY CHIVERS, DAWLISH SEX OFFENDER, JAILED FOR ONLINE CHILD SEX OFFENCES

In a significant crackdown on online child exploitation, Gary Chivers, a 71-year-old man from Dawlish, has been sentenced to prison after being caught attempting to engage in sexual conversations with underage girls through various internet platforms.

Chivers, who was already a registered sex offender, moved to Devon from the Home Counties last year. During this period, authorities discovered that a police monitoring device installed on his phone had ceased functioning, which potentially allowed him to continue his illicit activities undetected. Despite his age, Chivers actively sought out teenage girls by entering chat rooms designed for teenagers, where he falsely presented himself as a young male or young adult, concealing his true identity.

He employed multiple fake profiles to approach girls as young as ten years old. Unbeknownst to him, several of these contacts were decoys created by paedophile hunters aiming to catch predators. During these online interactions, Chivers sent explicit images of his genitals to multiple girls and even requested that one respond with an image of herself touching her private parts. His actions demonstrated a disturbing pattern of predatory behavior.

The situation escalated when a paedophile hunter, posing as an 11-year-old girl named Isobel, engaged with Chivers and asked him to send a friendship ring. In response, Chivers provided his real address in Dawlish, which further confirmed his intent and involvement. All these online contacts constituted clear breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) issued in 2015, which had been put in place following his previous convictions for similar offences, including the downloading and distribution of child abuse images.

Chivers, who resides at Redwood Court in Dawlish, faced multiple charges. He admitted to five counts of attempted sexual communication with a child, five counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, and five breaches of his existing SHPO. His actions prompted a swift judicial response, and he was sentenced to five years and six months in prison, with an additional 18 months on extended licence. Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court labeled him a dangerous offender, emphasizing the severity of his conduct.

During the sentencing, Judge Evans highlighted the gravity of the offences, noting that Chivers had targeted five different girls, three of whom claimed to be under 13. The judge pointed out that Chivers' previous convictions, which included inciting a real underage girl, aggravated the current case. The judge also observed that Chivers' activities appeared to be driven by a compulsive pattern of behavior, with evidence suggesting he had continued his predatory actions even after moving addresses and discovering that the monitoring app had stopped working.

Prosecutor Miss Mary McCarthy explained that police were alerted to Chivers' activities by a paedophile hunting group that tracked him to his home in Dawlish and confronted him nearby. Investigations revealed chat logs from August of the previous year, showing that Chivers had contacted five girls aged between ten and seventeen. He falsely claimed to be between 18 and 24 years old and used multiple fake profiles to carry out his predatory online behavior. The chat logs confirmed that he sent explicit images of his genitals to the girls and, in most cases, requested similar images from them.

Throughout his online activities, Chivers was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order that prohibited him from engaging in online contact with anyone he believed to be under 18. The order also allowed police to monitor his online activity, but it was clear that he continued to breach these restrictions, demonstrating a blatant disregard for the law and the safety of minors. His sentencing underscores the ongoing efforts of law enforcement and community groups to combat online child exploitation and protect vulnerable children from predators like Gary Chivers.