PHILIP BROADBENT CAUGHT IN ABERGELE PAEDOPHILE STING BY ONLINE GROUPS
| Red Rose Database
Abergele Child Sexual Abuser
In June 2019, a man named Philip Broadbent from Abergele found himself at the center of a serious online sting operation conducted by vigilant paedophile hunters. Broadbent, who resides at Maes Canol in Abergele, believed he was engaging in conversations with at least four teenage girls aged between 13 and 14 years old through Facebook Messenger. Unbeknownst to him, however, the individuals he was communicating with were not real teenagers but decoys working for online groups dedicated to exposing predators.
These decoys were part of two well-known online organizations, Totnes Justice and Leave Our Kids Alone. Both groups are composed of individuals who claim to gather evidence against those they suspect pose a danger to children. They operate by creating fake profiles and pretending to be young children online, with the goal of attracting and catching predators like Broadbent. The groups collaborated during this operation, with Totnes Justice initially engaging Broadbent and then passing the evidence to Leave Our Kids Alone for further action.
Members of Leave Our Kids Alone then organized a confrontation at Broadbent’s home in Abergele, which was live-streamed on their Facebook page. During the confrontation, they presented Broadbent with what they claimed was over 200 pages of chat history containing explicit and illicit messages. The video footage shows the group informing Broadbent that he would not be harmed or physically assaulted during the encounter and that the police had been contacted and were en route.
Throughout the confrontation, Broadbent appeared visibly distressed and agitated. He was seen shifting nervously and struggling to remain still. When questioned about his actions, he ultimately admitted guilt on camera, stating, “I know it was wrong, I shouldn’t have done it. I’ll just have to take what’s coming to me.” He attempted to justify his behavior by offering various excuses for sending sexual messages and images of a pornographic nature to what he believed were underage girls.
Following the live stream, the groups confirmed that they would hand over all the gathered evidence to the police. This evidence proved crucial in the subsequent legal proceedings. Broadbent was later charged and brought before Caernarfon Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to 15 charges of attempting to incite children to engage in sexual activity. The court sentenced him to six months in prison.
The judge presiding over the case described Broadbent’s actions, stating, “You sent them images of yourself and other pornographic images and tried repeatedly to get pictures of themselves. You didn’t know they were decoys.” In addition to his prison sentence, Broadbent was subjected to a seven-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was placed on the sex offenders register for a minimum of seven years, marking a significant legal consequence for his actions in Abergele.
These decoys were part of two well-known online organizations, Totnes Justice and Leave Our Kids Alone. Both groups are composed of individuals who claim to gather evidence against those they suspect pose a danger to children. They operate by creating fake profiles and pretending to be young children online, with the goal of attracting and catching predators like Broadbent. The groups collaborated during this operation, with Totnes Justice initially engaging Broadbent and then passing the evidence to Leave Our Kids Alone for further action.
Members of Leave Our Kids Alone then organized a confrontation at Broadbent’s home in Abergele, which was live-streamed on their Facebook page. During the confrontation, they presented Broadbent with what they claimed was over 200 pages of chat history containing explicit and illicit messages. The video footage shows the group informing Broadbent that he would not be harmed or physically assaulted during the encounter and that the police had been contacted and were en route.
Throughout the confrontation, Broadbent appeared visibly distressed and agitated. He was seen shifting nervously and struggling to remain still. When questioned about his actions, he ultimately admitted guilt on camera, stating, “I know it was wrong, I shouldn’t have done it. I’ll just have to take what’s coming to me.” He attempted to justify his behavior by offering various excuses for sending sexual messages and images of a pornographic nature to what he believed were underage girls.
Following the live stream, the groups confirmed that they would hand over all the gathered evidence to the police. This evidence proved crucial in the subsequent legal proceedings. Broadbent was later charged and brought before Caernarfon Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to 15 charges of attempting to incite children to engage in sexual activity. The court sentenced him to six months in prison.
The judge presiding over the case described Broadbent’s actions, stating, “You sent them images of yourself and other pornographic images and tried repeatedly to get pictures of themselves. You didn’t know they were decoys.” In addition to his prison sentence, Broadbent was subjected to a seven-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was placed on the sex offenders register for a minimum of seven years, marking a significant legal consequence for his actions in Abergele.