STEVE PRICE FROM ULEY CAUGHT IN TORQUAY UNDERCOVER POLICE STING TARGETING PEDOPHILE

In June 2018, authorities in Torquay successfully apprehended Steven Price, a 62-year-old man from Uley, after he fell into an undercover police trap designed to catch individuals seeking to engage in illegal activities with minors. Price had traveled approximately 100 miles from his residence in Gloucestershire to meet what he believed was a 12-year-old girl for sexual purposes.

According to reports, Price had openly expressed his intentions online, boasting about his desire to give the girl her 'first orgasm.' On the day of the incident, he arrived at a pub car park carrying a condom in his pocket, indicating his readiness for sexual activity. However, law enforcement officers were already present and waiting for him. When he approached the decoy, police swiftly detained him and revealed that the girl he intended to meet was actually an undercover officer posing as a minor.

The court proceedings disclosed that Price had previously been caught in a similar sting in 2017, which involved an 11-year-old decoy. This history underscored a pattern of concerning behavior. During the investigation, it was revealed that Price had spent approximately 40 days grooming a girl named Maddy online, engaging in sexually explicit conversations and encouraging her to touch herself.

Prosecutor Mr. Paul Grumbar detailed that Price had communicated with the decoy via the Lycos website, sending numerous explicit messages expressing his desire to have full sexual intercourse with the girl. He also encouraged her to engage in self-stimulation, further demonstrating his predatory intent. The defendant then made arrangements to meet her at the Willow Tree pub near Sainsbury’s on March 14 of that year.

Price, who resides on Elcombe Lane in Uley near Dursley, had traveled from Gloucestershire to Torquay for the meeting. When police apprehended him, they found a condom in his possession, to which he admitted that he always carried one. During the court hearing, he pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including attempting to engage in a sexual conversation with a child, attempting to meet a child under 13 for sexual activity, and grooming a minor for sexual purposes. He also requested that a further charge of sexual communication be considered.

Judge Mr. Martin Meeke, QC, sentenced Price to 15 months in prison. Additionally, he was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for ten years and was issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which restricts his contact with children. In his sentencing remarks, Recorder Meeke emphasized the gravity of Price’s actions, stating, “You left your home in Gloucestershire having arranged to meet her in Torquay. On your arrival, you were arrested and had a condom in your pocket. That was at a time when you expected to meet a 12-year-old girl. The evidence suggests you have an unnatural interest in girls aged 11 and 12.”