KEVIN COLLINS IN WINSHILL ESCAPES IMMEDIATE JAIL SENTENCE AFTER ONLINE GROOMING INCIDENT

In September 2017, a 44-year-old man involved in online grooming was caught by a vigilante group outside his Winshill home. The court heard that Kevin Collins was targeted by members of the Keeping Kids Safe group, who filmed their confrontation and shared the footage on social media.

The vigilante group created fake online profiles of young girls, which Collins believed he was communicating with. He thought he was chatting with girls aged 11 or 12 when he engaged in sexual conversations, including sending a nude image of himself and requesting the girls to send nude photos.

On September 21, Collins appeared via video link from prison at Stafford Crown Court for sentencing. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison, but this was suspended for two years. Moreover, he is required to participate in a rehabilitation program targeting his sex offending behavior and must register as a sex offender for the next ten years.

Collins, who resides on Empire Road in Winshill, admitted to three charges of deliberately communicating with girls whom he believed were 16 or under with the intent of obtaining sexual gratification between June 25 and July 15, 2017.

Judge Michael Chambers QC emphasized the seriousness of Collins' actions, stating that all children should be protected from such behavior. Prosecutor Darron Whitehead explained that Collins exchanged messages over three weeks with a girl he thought was 12, named 'Kirsty', and over two weeks with an girl he believed was 11, called 'Lexi', as well as about a week with a girl named 'Tia'.

Investigators had set up a decoy mobile number involved in the chats. Collins initiated contact with 'Tia' on July 10 and sought confirmation of her age. In WhatsApp conversations, he shared his age, discussed relationships, and asked if she preferred older men. Mr. Whitehead revealed that Collins asked if she would have sex with an older man, complimented her by calling her cute, and inappropriately asked for nude pictures, sending a picture of his private parts in the process.

He also expressed a desire to meet her and offered to pick her up from the station in his car. On July 15, Collins arranged a meeting but failed to show up. Vigilante members, familiar with his address, his vehicle's make and model, went to his home and found him there. When confronted, Collins made admissions, leading to police arrest.

During police interviews, Collins claimed he was lonely and insisted he was not attracted to children, asserting he had no intention of meeting any of the girls. The court also noted that Collins had engaged in similar conversations with 'Kirsty' and 'Lexi' in the weeks prior.

It was also revealed that in 2007, Collins was convicted of 17 counts of downloading child sexual abuse images and had received a three-year community order for those offenses.