BRADFORD PAEDOPHILE SENTENCED TO TWO AND A HALF YEARS AFTER GROOMING TRIAL
A PAEDOPHILE who travelled from his home in Lancashire to Bradford to meet a 13-year-old girl was instead greeted by a hunter group that livestreamed the confrontation on social media.The child whom he had groomed on the internet was a decoy.
Richard Bullock had cancelled an earlier planned meeting, despite having looked into booking a hotel room in Wakefield, when he was caught in Bradford’s Broadway shopping centre in October 2022.
The 33-year-old, who was convicted after a trial, is now beginning a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
Bullock, from Bar Street in Burnley, must also register as a sex offender indefinitely.
Bradford Crown Court heard that Bullock was convicted of attempting to communicate sexually with a child, which involved sending a picture of his erect penis; attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity by encouraging her to masturbate plus grooming via text message; and meeting a child following sexual grooming.
Bullock made two arrangements to meet the teenager but called off the first due to a funeral, despite having already investigated booking a hotel.
The second planned meeting, at The Broadway in Bradford city centre, culminated in the confrontation being livestreamed by a paedophile hunter group.
Sentencing Bullock, His Honour Judge Jonathan Gibson said: “There is absolutely no doubt about it that had you been corresponding with a real child, you would have received a sentence of imprisonment of at least five years.
The fact [is that] you were speaking to a so-called decoy rather than to a real child.
On the jury’s verdict you believed that you were speaking with a real 13-year-old.” Judge Gibson said a substantial part of the delay in the case being dealt with was because Bullock did not admit his guilt and it went to trial.
Bullock was sentenced to two-and-a-half years' imprisonment for attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, plus 12 months for attempting to communicate sexually with a child and 15 months for meeting a child following sexual grooming, both to be served concurrently.
He was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further order.
