Paedophile jailed after twice being caught grooming kids
An online predator who got off once with a light sentence has been jailed after paedophile hunters caught him again.
Public shaming and a suspended sentence did not deter a pervert from trying to groom a decoy he thought to be a 12-year-old girl. Kieran Burgess of Stockport, Greater Manchester had been sentenced in 2018 after a child protection group caught him trying to meet a decoy, whom he thought to be an underage girl. Breaching his 10-year sexual harm prevention order, Burgess continued to prey on minors and got caught by another child protection group. Minshull Street Crown Court handed the repeat offended a stricter sentence.
Child protection group Shadow Hunters had conducted a sting operation on Facebook in 2017. They used decoy profiles of young girls to catch paedophiles. Burgess had fallen for one of the decoys and even planned to meet at a bus stop. Shadow Hunters members caught Burgess at the bus stop and recorded the interaction. He was arrested and tried in April 2018. Burgess was handed a two-year suspended sentence for 15 sexual offences he admitted to. He was also subjected to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.
Breaching the order, Burgess used a secret mobile phone to target under-aged girls on a dating app. Another child protection group, Justice for the Innocent, used a fake profile claiming to be a 12-year-old girl named Shannon. Burgess continued communication with the decoy even after clearly knowing she was 12.
Burgess told the decoy not to tell anyone about their relationship as it would get him into trouble. At the same time, he sent her sexually explicit messages and images of his penis. Members of the group finally confronted him at his home. The police were alerted and Burgess was arrested for breaching his sexual harm prevention order.
The Daily Mail reported that when Burgess was 16, he was cautioned for sexual assault on two 14-year-old girls.
Burgess' defence barrister Mark Fireman pointed out that Burgess lives in a bubble since he has autism, Asperger's and ADHD. Fireman stated that Burgess' interactions were limited to the virtual world and the chances of his actions being replicated in the real world were remote.
Judge John Edwards believes that Burgess poses a high risk to children. Sentencing him to 33-months in prison, the judge ordered Burgess to sign the Sex Offender Register for life.
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