STEVEN LIVSEY

Livsey was approached by members of an online paedophile-hunter organization after he thought he was communicating with a 13-year-old girl.

At Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday, it was revealed that a member of this group had created a fake profile of the teenager on Facebook.

In September 2022, the now 25-year-old Livesey sent a friend request to this profile, but he recognized she was underage, called her “too young,” and blocked her.

Subsequently, he reinitiated contact and engaged in sexually explicit conversations.

Prosecutor Joseph Bell stated: “He admitted she was too young and pleaded with her not to report him.” The court was informed that Livesey sent explicit images of himself and implied that the girl’s school was inadequate in teaching sex education.

Mr.

Bell explained that Livesey explicitly told the decoy he wanted a sexual relationship and asked her to keep their interactions secret.

Livesey also shared his home address with the decoy.

Shortly after, he was confronted by members of the online group, and police arrived to arrest him.

During a hearing at the crown court in August, Livesey, from Huddersfield Road, Elland, confessed to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a minor and to inducing a child to watch a sexual act.

He was sentenced to a 12-month prison term suspended for two years and was ordered to participate in up to 40 days of rehabilitation activities.

Additionally, Livesey must register as a sex offender for 10 years and follow the conditions of a sexual harm prevention order during that period.

The court reviewed a psychological assessment that indicated Livesey posed a low risk of re-offending and took this into account in the sentencing.