FAKE PRIEST WHO COMPLAINED TO POLICE BECAUSE HE WAS CALLED A PAEDOPHILE AND CAR SMASHED CONVICTED OF CHILD SEX OFFENCES

A man named Kevin Marshall, aged 45, has been sentenced for multiple child grooming offenses. He falsely claimed to be a reverend and sought to groom two teenagers through social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp. Marshall had posted pictures of himself wearing a priest's collar and a Moncler coat on Facebook, and he booked hotel stays and made arrangements to meet two 15-year-old girls for sexual encounters, after befriending them online. Unbeknownst to him, he was being monitored in a paedophile hunter sting. He communicated with two decoy profiles and attempted to meet both girls in person, with one proposal including staying in a hotel in Glasgow. During court proceedings at Liverpool Crown Court, prosecutors described how he had contacted the girls and made sexual comments, including calling one girl “hot” and sending photographs of motorcycles, cars, and his shoulder x-ray. The prosecution noted that Marshall’s criminal record includes 20 previous convictions for 51 offences, including a five-year sentence for blackmail in 2015. His defense lawyer stated that his recent offending was linked to the loss of his mother and cocaine misuse, and that he was ashamed of his behavior. Marshall pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communications with a child and charges related to facilitating a child sex offence. At sentencing, Judge Simon Medland KC described his actions as seeking to groom the children in a prolonged and graphic manner, emphasizing that children are entitled to their childhood and should not be sexualized. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was also handed a lifelong sexual harm prevention order. Additionally, he will be required to register as a sex offender indefinitely.