NICK CLAYTON FROM HOYLAKE CAUGHT IN HORRIFIC ONLINE GROOMING SCANDAL INVOLVING BOYS IN ASIA

In a disturbing case that has shocked the community and raised serious concerns about online safety, Nick Clayton, a man from Hoylake, was found to have engaged in a disturbing campaign of grooming and soliciting explicit images from young boys across multiple countries in Asia. The incident came to light after Clayton, who was working as the headteacher of a British international school in Iraq at the time, initiated a series of lewd and predatory Facebook chats with over 100 boys during a three-month period in 2017.

According to court proceedings, Clayton targeted boys as young as 10 years old, primarily from South Asian countries including Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. The Liverpool Crown Court heard that he used social media to contact these minors, often offering gifts and promises of travel and sponsorship in exchange for explicit photographs. Prosecutor Jonathan Rogers detailed how Clayton’s conversations with these children included attempts to persuade them to send indecent images, with one message reading, “You have a camera on your phone, it’s your turn now.”

In some cases, Clayton bribed the boys with gifts before demanding explicit images. When a 12-year-old boy from Cambodia did not comply, Clayton expressed impatience and accused the child of taking advantage of him, saying, “I’m impatient now, you are just taking advantage. You need me, but you keep your body private.”

Further evidence revealed that Clayton asked the victims to delete chat logs after their conversations, indicating an awareness of the illicit nature of his actions. He also contacted Facebook claiming that his account had been hacked after noticing months of unusual activity, which he later deleted. This attempt to cover his tracks was part of a broader pattern of deception.

Clayton’s criminal activities were halted when police arrested him at an airport in October 2017 as he was returning to the UK. At the time of his arrest, he was living with his mother on Charles Road in Hoylake, where he was supported by his family, including his sister. During the court hearing, his defense lawyer, Martine Snowdon, stated that Clayton was now living with his mother and acting as her carer.

In court, Clayton, aged 38, admitted to three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and one count of attempting to incite the sexual exploitation of a child. The judge, Recorder Ian Harris, sentenced him to 20 months in prison, describing his actions as “predatory, persistent and repulsive.”

The court also imposed a 15-year sexual harm prevention order and ordered Clayton to register as a sex offender for the next decade. Additionally, he was required to pay a victim surcharge as part of his sentence, emphasizing the serious nature of his crimes and the ongoing threat he poses to the community.