RICHARD MALE: EX-ARMY MAJOR GROOMING TEENAGE GIRLS IN LEICESTER AND KENT
In January 2010, a former army major named Richard Male was sentenced to prison after being found guilty of grooming multiple teenage girls over the internet and engaging in sexual abuse.Male, who served as a Major with the Royal Logistics Corps and had a distinguished 25-year military career, including service in the Gulf War and Kosovo conflict, was convicted of a series of disturbing crimes involving minors.
According to court proceedings, Male targeted young girls as young as 13 and 14 years old through various social networking platforms.
He would initiate contact with them online, often on sites like MSN Messenger and the 'Hot or Not' website, and then lure them into performing sexual acts on webcams.
His grooming tactics included enticing his victims with gifts such as sex toys, mini-skirts, underwear, earrings, alcohol, and revealing outfits.
These gifts were used as tools to manipulate and control the girls, encouraging them to engage in increasingly explicit activities.
Prosecutor Fiona Horlick detailed that Male had admitted to grooming seven girls between 2004 and 2008.
He also confessed to having sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl he had groomed by purchasing her a sex toy.
The court heard that Male's predatory behavior extended beyond online interactions; he met some of his victims in various locations, including Leicester, Watford, Gloucester, Kent, and Melksham in Wiltshire.
These meetings often involved further sexual exploitation.
Evidence presented in court revealed that Male bought a 15-year-old girl a sex toy and later engaged in sexual activity with her.
He also coerced a 14-year-old girl to pose for photographs on his motorbike, wearing revealing clothing he had purchased.
Additionally, he sent a 14-year-old girl vodka and took two girls out for dinner before persuading one of them, aged 14, to perform sexual acts on a webcam.
The court was also shown a naked picture of Male himself, which he had sent to a girl he had begun grooming when she was just 12 years old.
Further disturbing evidence included the police discovering 218 images and five videos of children on Male's computer.
His online activity demonstrated an obsession with sexual content involving minors and an extensive use of social networking sites to find and groom victims.
Male admitted to multiple charges, including five counts of meeting a girl following grooming, three counts of making indecent images, four counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and additional charges of sexual activity with a minor and possession of indecent images.
During the trial, Male's defense attorney, Ged O’Connor, stated that Male had resigned from the army in November 2008, just before his arrest and prior to being deployed to Afghanistan.
The judge, Mary Jane Mowat, sentenced Male to four and a half years in prison.
She also ordered him to register as a sex offender for life.
In her remarks, the judge expressed her belief that Male's ultimate goal was full sexual intercourse, indicating a clear obsession with sexual interactions involving young girls and other sexual interests outside normal boundaries.
Det Sgt Jim Pullinger of the Ministry of Defence Police praised the bravery of the victims who came forward to report Male’s crimes, emphasizing their courage in facing such traumatic experiences and helping bring him to justice.
