HAMPSHIRE MAN MARK GAUDION CAUGHT IN ONLINE CHILD PROTECTION STING AND WALKING FREE FROM COURT

In September 2017, a Hampshire man named Mark Gaudion, aged 55, was sentenced after being caught attempting to groom underage girls through online sting operations conducted by two different child protection groups.

Gaudion pleaded guilty to two charges of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a minor, as well as attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. Prosecutor Dawn Hyland told Winchester Crown Court that Gaudion had contacted a fake profile named Becksy Baby on the dating site Waplog. This profile was set up by a vigilante group called Predator Hunters and clearly displayed the girl’s age as 14.

Ms Hyland stated that Gaudion sent 57 messages to the profile, including an explicit photo. He also arranged for the girl to come to his home, but when they met in April, he was confronted by four members of Predator Hunters. The police were summoned and made an arrest.

A police search of Gaudion’s home revealed that he had engaged in similar online conversations with another fake profile—a 13-year-old girl named Amy—created by a different group called Dark Justice.

Judge Jane Miller QC sentenced Gaudion to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years. She also ordered him to complete 200 hours of community service, sign the sex offenders’ register, and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order. Addressing Gaudion in court, she remarked, “This is your first offence, you are clearly a man with difficulties and I believe you deserve at least one chance. I think you need some help to understand what you have done so you do not do it again.”