MAN WHO TARGETED GIRL IS JAILED
A man received a prison sentence after engaging in online grooming of a 13-year-old girl and taking her on rides in his car.Philip Thurston, aged 34 and residing on Laburnum Close in Cambridge, initiated contact with the girl via Instagram in June 2023, requesting her Snapchat account details.
Despite being aware of her age, Thurston arranged to collect her from a location close to her residence.
Initially, the girl refused to get into his vehicle, but he returned days later and drove her to Cambourne and subsequently to a McDonald's outlet in Caxton, where he paid for her meal.
Over a two-week period, Thurston engaged in online conversations with the girl, during which he sent sexualised messages stating that if she was older, he would pursue a relationship with her and describing his intentions towards her.
In contrast, the girl observed that Thurston appeared quiet and shy when in person.
On the evening of 28 June at approximately 7.50pm, the girl informed her parents that she was going for a drive with a 17-year-old named Fabio.
Her stepfather became suspicious and followed her to a nearby bus stop where Thurston was waiting in his car.
He successfully photographed Thurston's vehicle and followed it through Cambridge, but eventually lost sight of it.
While driving, Thurston admitted to the victim he was 32, not in his late teens.
He became angry when he noticed they were being followed by the victim’s stepdad and asked if she was “setting him up”.
He added: “Your stepdad is lucky he didn’t catch me” before taking her home.
Thurston was arrested and in police interview, he admitted meeting the victim and said he thought she was 14.
He insisted he was “not a bad person” and said he didn’t realise picking up a child was illegal, claiming he just wanted to “help people” as she wanted to be taken out.
Thurston pleaded guilty to taking a child as to remove him/her from a person having lawful control, at a hearing in January this year.
