BASILDON MAN JAILED FOR SEXUAL SNAPCHAT MESSAGES WITH 'GIRL'
A MAN has been jailed after repeatedly sending sexual photos and videos to an undercover police officer posing as a 12-year-old girl.Lewis Cain, 29, of Great Oxcroft in Basildon, blamed his “porn addiction” for the sexual offences.
His very first message to the undercover officer – calling herself Hannah – was a photo of himself laying on his bed, lifting his boxer shorts to expose himself.
“Now it’s your choice if I go any further,” he wrote.
When the officer replied she hadn’t been expecting that, Cain responded: “It was a surprise.” He falsely claimed to be a 17-year-old apprentice from Guildford.
When the officer responded that she was 12, he embarked on three days of graphic sexual messages.
The undercover officer made persistent comments reiterating that she was a child, Basildon Crown Court heard on Wednesday, including talking about school, and sometimes saying her mum was in the room or was telling her to go to bed.
Cain nonetheless carried on sending her photos and videos, saying he only sent them to “special people like you”.
He was persistent in trying to get a picture of Hannah in her underwear, said prosecutor Gavin Burrell.
He eventually blocked the undercover officer’s account, but police raided his Basildon home and matched his bedroom to the background of the images and videos which had been sent.
He pleaded guilty to attempting to sexually communicate with a child, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
Defense barrister Mark Hemming told the court that Cain is extremely remorseful and accepts his part.
He had been laid up recovering from back surgery and had already sought sexual therapy.
The court noted he has no previous convictions.
However, Judge Shane Collery KC found there had been significant planning in his actions, describing them as “quite troubling.” He was using an alter-ego, claiming to be 17, and had worked out a whole spiel.
The judge cited Cain's pornography addiction and social behaviors as context for his actions, noting society’s need to protect children.
Cain was sentenced to 25 months in prison and a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, restricting his internet use and subjecting him to police spot-checks.
"You thought you were dealing with a 12-year-old," said the judge.
"This was so quickly, you moved to seeking to affect a child, and society simply won’t live with that… You simply cannot act this way and expect the courts to treat it lightly."
