NATHAN ARMITAGE OF ROTHERHAM SENTENCED IN SHEFFIELD COURT FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST TEENAGER

In April 2019, Nathan Armitage, a 30-year-old from Osberton Street, Rawmarsh, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to inciting sexual activity with a teenage girl. The sentencing took place at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday, 30 April. Armitage admitted to responsible charges of inciting sexual activity with a child and multiple attempted breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) that had been imposed earlier. The court was told how he targeted a 15-year-old girl—whose identity remains protected by law—by communicating with her online under the guise of a teenage girl. He befriended her and gradually sent increasingly sexual messages, eventually asking her to send explicit images. Armitage was also convicted of attempting to breach a SHPO issued in 2015, which explicitly prohibited him from contacting children. Evidence revealed that he was attempting to contact multiple individuals online, believing them to be girls aged between 12 and 14, but in fact these were members of a paedophile-hunting group.

Earlier in March 2019, Armitage appeared before the courts again after being caught by a paedophile-hunting group. A former offender from South Yorkshire, Armitage had previously received a three-year community order in May 2016 for engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl, along with a sexual harm prevention order preventing contact with children under 16 without parental or social services consent. On this occasion, Armitage faced allegations of attempting to engage underage girls he met online in sexual activities. Prosecutor Christopher Dunn explained that Armitage, of Rawmarsh, befriended a 15-year-old girl online, claiming to be a 14-year-old girl named Amy. He repeatedly asked her for sexually explicit images, which she initially refused but eventually sent after Armitage sent her a suggestive image of a girl in her underwear sourced from the internet, claiming it was ‘Amy’. Dunn noted that the girl told police she sent the images out of fear of losing her online friendship.

In November 2017, Armitage was intercepted by the paedophile-hunting group One Reason, which was described as a ‘paedophile hunter’ organization. He had been communicating with a decoy account posing as a 14-year-old girl and arranged to meet her for sex. Fortunately, members of the group arranged to meet Armitage outside Wombwell police station, preventing any crime. Dunn further explained that Armitage had been in contact with three additional decoy accounts, all claiming to be girls aged 12 to 14. Armitage pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, four counts of attempting to breach a SHPO, and four counts of attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity. The prosecution argued that Armitage’s learning difficulties, as suggested by a psychiatric report, were not as severe as claimed. Judge Graham Reeds QC postponed sentencing until April 26 to allow the court to commission a further psychiatric assessment of Armitage’s mental state and understanding of grooming behavior, stating, ‘The fact I’m adjourning the hearing for a psychiatric should not be taken as an indication of the seriousness of the matters for sentence.’ Armitage remains on bail until his next court appearance.