GILES COCKETT SENTENCED IN BRADFORD FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES

A convicted paedophile, Giles Cockett, aged 39, of Dick Lane, Bradford, is set to serve a 32-month prison term after being caught by a civilian-run hunter group for sending sexually explicit images and messages to a child decoy. Bradford Crown Court was told that Cockett, who is autistic and suffers from a depressive disorder, lives a largely isolated life and has been estranged from his family. His criminal record dates back to 2018, with similar offenses, and he will be required to register as a sex offender indefinitely and be subject to a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Prosecutor Camille Morland explained that Cockett initiated contact with what he believed was a 14-year-old girl on the platform Chat Hour in early August of the previous year. In reality, he was communicating with a decoy operated by Protecting Kids Online, a civilian organization. On August 2, Cockett approached the profile, started chatting, and asked if she liked sex chat. The girl quickly disclosed she was only 14. Cockett then directed the conversation towards masturbation, moved the discussion to the messaging app Kick, and over the next six days, asked her to discuss her private parts, commented that she would look sexy in a swimming costume, talked again about masturbation, and sent explicit photographs of himself, his location, and a penis image.

The police were alerted after the messages were reported, leading to Cockett’s arrest at his home. During questioning, he admitted his actions, citing his autism and claiming that he did not consider masturbation to be a sexual subject. He later pleaded guilty to attempting to incite sexual activity with a child, attempting sexual communications with a child, and two counts of making indecent images of children. It was also revealed that Cockett had previous convictions involving attempts to communicate sexually with a child and possession of indecent images. For these offences, he had previously received a five-year community order and a subsequent three-year community order from Chester Crown Court.

Miss Morland described Cockett’s offending as “a fairly entrenched habit.”

Defence lawyer Abdul Shakoor stated that Cockett’s autism diagnosis “reduced his understanding of what he was doing and the consequences of his actions.” He noted that Cockett was “very motivated” to seek help for his mental health issues and to address his offending. However, he emphasized Cockett’s secluded lifestyle and social isolation from his family, which impacted his online social interactions and contributed to his reoffending. Shakoor remarked, “He recognises that when that occurs, he leans towards offending.”

Upon sentencing, Her Honour Judge Sophie McKone, who appeared via video link from HMP Leeds, sentenced Cockett to 32 months in prison. She stated, “Over about six days you made sexual communications with somebody you believed and no doubt hoped was a 14-year-old girl.” She clarified that, although it was a decoy, Cockett did not know that and engaged in sexual talk with someone he believed to be 14.

Judge McKone also addressed the indecent images recovered from Cockett, noting, “These children were real children and were really being sexually abused. Although you did not physically touch these children, you are indirectly responsible for the abuse of the children in those pictures.” She highlighted that, while the decoy was not a real child, Cockett had “made a full admission that you are sexually attracted to children,” yet acknowledged that he had shown “guilt and remorse” and recognized his wrongdoing.