MICHAEL CRICK FROM DESBOROUGH SENTENCED FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES IN NORTHAMPTON

In February 2019, Michael Crick, a 67-year-old former carnival organizer from Desborough, was sentenced to prison after engaging in a series of highly inappropriate messages directed at underage girls.

Crick was caught in a police sting operation after an undercover officer, posing as a 12-year-old girl on Chat-Avenue, engaged in chats with him. During their conversation, Crick, using the username Guest6519, asked explicit questions and suggested he wanted her to be his girlfriend—believing she was just 12 years old. When the officer indicated her age and emphasized the privacy of the chat, Crick replied, “Our secret then.”

His messages included propositions to be his girlfriend if they got along well, promises of gifts if they met, and explicit inquiries about her body. He also expressed a desire to kiss her and mentioned putting a friendship ring on her finger, suggesting she wear it on her ring finger.

The conversations escalated onto Skype, becoming highly sexualized. During this period, Crick, who had worked as a biomedical scientist for 42 years, told the ‘girl’ he loved her and wanted to spend the night with her. He was visibly distressed at court, head in hands, as details emerged.

An investigation uncovered past chats with other girls dating back to March 2013, including a case where Crick sent a seemingly explicit image to a 14-year-old girl and asked her for one in return.

Police raided Crick’s home in January 2017, seizing devices. On one hard drive, officers found 16 indecent images—two in category B and 14 in category C, with Category A being the most severe. When questioned, Crick admitted that his online chatting was driven by boredom after retiring, explaining he started exploring online activity to see what children were doing and that many of the girls involved were aged 14 or 15 because of his interest in girls growing up.

He also confessed to chatting with a 16-year-old girl for nearly two years.

Crick pleaded guilty to charges of indecent images and attempting to induce a child to engage in sexual activity at Northampton Magistrates’ Court in December 2018.

His Honour Judge Fowler sentenced him to two years and six months in prison, stating, “It’s sad to say the least to find someone of your age here, someone who had a long and productive career. Someone who had brought up a family and had been contributing positively to the community and church.”

As part of his sentence, Crick will serve half in custody and the rest on licence. He is required to register as a sex offender for life, will be subject to a 15-year sexual harm prevention order, and is barred from working with children.