March 2021

Southam man with a self-confessed attraction to young children caught sending indecent image via Facebook

March 2021

Paedophile caught after ex-girlfriend pretended to be 12-year-old girl on Snapchat

A paedophile who preyed on schoolgirls was caught by his ex-girlfriend when she set up a fake Snapchat profile to trap him.

Adam Simmons, 27, was in a relationship with Louisa Lanza, 27, when she became suspicious after he started hiding his phone.

When she found it, she discovered he had sent sexual messages to underage girls. She said she contacted police but no action was taken.

Simmons was finally caught when Lanza set up a fake Snapchat profile posing as a 12-year-old girl called Anya.

She began messaging Simmons, who claimed he was 17, asked her for sex, and begged her to send him explicit pictures.

Lanza again reported Simmons to police again and he was arrested in 2018.

When he was questioned by police he claimed he suffered from “erectile dysfunction”.

However, the court heard this claim was disproved when he sent ‘Anya’ a picture of his genitals.

Simmons admitted five charges of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and distributing an indecent image of a child.

Simmons, of Leamington Spa, Warks., was sentenced to 14 months in prison suspended for two years and ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years. However, the sentencing judge condemned the prosuction for not bringing more serious charges.

Judge Sylvia de Bertodano said: “Why was it not charged as attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity? It makes a huge difference to sentencing.

“This appears to be inciting these children to engage in sexual activity. Whether or not they existed is irrelevant for this purpose.

“It seems there has been a massively generous charging decision.”

During the sentencing hearing at Warwick Crown Court, Judge de Bertodano addressed Simmons directly. She said: “These are matters that are very serious indeed. You know the view I take of that.”

The court heard Simmons, who acts on stage and in minor local productions, had sent a “voluminous” number of disturbing messages to young girls.

John O’Higgins, prosecuting, said: “In October that year [Lanza] noticed a new name had appeared on her Snapchat account, and decided to check whether it was Simmons, so created one herself using the name Anya.

“The profile gave Anya’s age as 12 but that did not seem to bother him.”

O’Higgins said Simmons gave his name as Adam, claimed to be 17, and asked if they could have sex.

He also asked her to touch herself and send him pictures so he could “make sure she was doing it right”.

Lanza again reported it to Warwickshire Police who arrested Simmons and seized his laptop and phone.

When he was questioned he said he had been in a relationship with an actress who found out about his sexual chat with other females.

He claimed he was attracted to women aged 16-22 and had ended the chat when he found they were younger.

O’Higgins said police found “voluminous” sexually-explicit chats Simmons had had with other girls.

They included discussions about oral sex with two girls aged 12 and 13 from America and a request to a 15-year-old Swedish girl to have items available so she could penetrate herself.

February 2021

Rugby man jailed for downloading and distributing indecent images of very young children and babies

A police investigation found that a paedophile from Rugby who was downloading and distributing indecent images of very young children and babies also made searches for childcare jobs.

And after being released on bail, Lee Barnwell continued to search for and exchange similar images and had a bag of children’s underwear at his home.

He had pleaded guilty to six charges of making indecent images of children, one of possessing indecent images of children and four of distributing them.

Appearing at Warwick Crown Court, Barnwell (48) of Dunchurch Road, Rugby, was jailed for three years and four months and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

Prosecutor Graeme Simpson said that in April 2019 the police executed a search warrant at Barnwell’s home after they had received information about his internet activity.

He was arrested, and the police seized a number of devices including a laptop, a Kindle Fire, two mobile phones and two USB sticks which were examined by high-tech officers.

On them they discovered 156 images classed as being in category A, 147 category B images and 3,535 category C images.

“It was also discovered that the defendant had been in communication with another person on a chat app. He used the name Leo and had been chatting to someone called ‘Kingdice.’

“They exchanged images of children, some of them new-born and very young babies,” said Mr Simpson.

Barnwell was also found to have carried out internet searches using search terms including ‘sex with kids’ and ‘photos of nude children.’

And in 2014 he had made a search for childcare jobs, although Mr Simpson pointed out there was nothing to suggest that he had actually been working with children.

There were also files on the laptop with pictures of named young boys on which grossly indecent text had been added.

Barnwell was bailed, and in June last year the police received intelligence that he had been uploading further images of children.

He was arrested again in August, and a phone and a second Kindle Fire were found to contain 142 indecent images in all three categories which he had downloaded since his first arrest.

Online chat revealed he had been involved in distributing images in the two months prior to that arrest, with 3,851 files having been exchanged between him and two other people.

And the police also found a bag containing children’s underwear, said Mr Simpson.

He added that Barnwell, who had no previous convictions, was interviewed three times – but each time replied ‘no comment’ to questions put to him.

Judge Anthony Potter told Barnwell: “I have to sentence you for 11 offences that you committed over the course of about two years, all of which involved the possession or distribution of sexualised images of children, some of them no more than babies.

“People like you give life to the abuse of children, because if you didn’t view or distribute these images, other people would not do that for your gratification.

“People like you bear a heavy responsibility for the sexual abuse of children.

“You offending should have come to an end on the 6th of April 2019 when you were arrested and six devices were seized.

“But you sought to carry on searching for further images of children, and you had been making searches for jobs involving the care

January 2021

Pervert preyed on Tinder date’s 12-year-old daughter

A pervert who met a woman on the Tinder dating site ended up pursuing her 12-year-old daughter for sex.

Joseph Carter from Arnold Road, Stoke Golding, Nuneaton, pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Carter had matched with the girl’s mother on the dating app and the two adults had a brief “acquaintance” before things fizzled out.

Months later, in May last year, Carter, aged 34, messaged the woman asking if she wanted to meet up and she invited him to her home in North West Leicestershire.

While the dad-of-one  was there, the 12-year-old came downstairs and met him.

Andrew Vout, prosecuting, said after he had gone the girl was watching television with her mother when she received a friend request on her Snapchat account, which she accepted.

But when she realised who it was, she immediately told her mum, who then took control of the phone and pretended to be her daughter.

Mr Vout said: “A number of messages were exchanged which then became inappropriate and sexual. The mother photographed the messages on her own phone before they expired.

Carter’s texts over several hours included: “I won’t lie, when I saw you I thought she is so hot.

“You’re gorgeous and your body is incredible.”

The mother replied, in the guise of her daughter, falsely claiming mum was “drunk and asleep”.

Carter then offered to return to the house and meet up with the 12-year-old downstairs.

He asked if she was a virgin and when the reply confirmed that she was, Carter messaged: “I will be gentle with you babe, do you think you will be able to handle it? Obviously I’m going to be quiet. I don’t want anyone to catch us, especially when we’re being naughty xxx.”

He then asked if she was “good at keeping a secret”.

He then explicitly detailed sexual acts, before saying he would send her a picture so she could see what she “would be getting” followed by an indecent image.

The horrified mother then contacted the police, concerned the defendant might return.

Mr Vout said Carter then messaged something about the presence of the police at the house – but later denied he was in the vicinity at the time, claiming he just went home and never intended visiting the child.

He pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Carter was jailed for two years.

He was placed on a sexual harm prevention order and will have to enlist on a sex offender register, both for 10 years.