EX-SOLDIER GUILTY OF ONLINE GROOMING AND BREACHING SEX OFFENDER CONDITIONS
Melvyn Gilbert, a 68-year-old man from Burgess Street, Stockton-on-Tees, served in the Falklands and the Gulf War as a soldier.He arranged to meet a 14-year-old boy at a KFC in Long Eaton after grooming him online.
In messages exchanged before their meeting, Gilbert asked the boy if he woke up sexually aroused and offered to pay for trips to the cinema.
He also inquired whether he got turned on while showering after sports and referred to the boy as his 'surrogate son.' When Gilbert arrived at the fast food restaurant in Long Eaton, he was actually met by a group of self-styled paedophile hunters who filmed him and called the police.
Meanwhile, while on bail for that offence, Gilbert used the alias 'Daveyboy2020' on a gay dating website called 'Fab Guys,' breaching his sex offender register conditions.
The Nottingham Crown Court sentenced him to a three-year community order, requiring him to attend a 43-day sex offender treatment program and 25 rehabilitation sessions.
Additionally, he was placed on the sex offender register for five years and handed a five-year sexual harm prevention order.
Judge Julie Warburton expressed concern about Gilbert's psychological state, citing a report that indicated he still felt he was 'scammed on Facebook.' The judge emphasized the importance of addressing his behaviour to prevent harm to potential victims.
