JACK MARTIN FROM AYLESBURY RECEIVES SUSPENDED SENTENCE OVER ONLINE CHILD SEXUAL OFFENCES

In August 2017, a man from Aylesbury was sentenced to a suspended prison term after engaging in online activities involving a 13-year-old girl. Jack Harry Martin, aged 18 and residing on Camborne Avenue in Bedgrove, pleaded guilty at Aylesbury Crown Court to inciting a female child under 16 to engage in sexual activity and possession of indecent images of a child.

Between Friday, March 11, 2016, and Saturday, March 19, 2016, Martin contacted the girl via Facebook Messenger, during which he expressed sexual interest and attempted to incite her to partake in sexual acts. On March 15, 2016, he also created an indecent image of a child by photographing a picture displayed on a mobile phone screen using a tablet.

Martin admitted to these charges during a court hearing on June 27, 2017. Investigating officer Det Con Richard Bazeley explained, “Martin denied the offences and lied in his police interview, claiming that the Facebook account used to speak to the victim was a false account, cloned from his genuine one. He was asked to provide the login details for his real Facebook account to verify this but refused.”

“Police inquiries proved quite clearly that the offending account was used by Martin. In a second interview, this evidence was presented to him, yet he continued to deny the offences,” Bazeley added. “Martin's refusal to admit guilt initially resulted in a significant expenditure of police resources. He only confessed at court in light of overwhelming evidence.”

As part of his sentence, Martin was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which prohibits contact with children under 16 without parental consent, aiming to prevent further offending. The officer emphasized, “This includes online contact, and I urge any child who experiences inappropriate sexual contact online from an adult to inform their parents and the police.”

Det Con Bazeley further stated, “Such offences will not be tolerated, and we thoroughly investigate all cases. I hope this case serves as a warning to young people to think twice before sharing intimate images, often facilitated by platforms like Snapchat where users may believe they are protected, but images can still be preserved secretly.”

For inciting a female child under 16 to engage in sexual activity, Martin was sentenced to two months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to participate in a 60-day Sexual Offenders Programme along with 100 hours of unpaid work. He also received a concurrent sentence of two weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. Additionally, he was ordered to pay £800 in costs, will be listed as a sex offender for seven years, and must adhere to a five-year sexual harm prevention order. An iPad containing the indecent image was forfeited and ordered for destruction.