4 hours Ago By [email protected] (Mark Naylor)
A sex offender who thought that he was exchanging highly sexualised online messages with a 13-year-old girl got a nasty shock when he suddenly realised to his horror that she did not even exist and that the police had been alerted. Brian Walker landed himself in trouble after he sent intimate images of himself to the decoy girl and made internet searches that showed that he had a sexual interest in children, Hull Crown Court heard. Walker, 68, of East Street, Holme-on-the-Wolds, near South Dalton, north-west of Beverley , admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child between April 9 and 15, 2022.
Judge Alexander Menary said that Walker exchanged online messages for about a week with a person that he wrongly thought was a 13-year-old girl but who was actually a decoy pretending to be a child. The conversations quickly became sexualised. Walker sent intimate images of his private parts and he asked the fake girl to send indecent pictures to him.
The messages also involved images of underwear. Walker made a number of internet searches that indicated an interest in young children. Keep up to date with all the latest crime and court news from Hull with our free newsletter Details of the messages were passed to the police.
There had, however, been a long delay in bringing the case before the court. Billy Torbett, mitigating, said that Walker pleaded guilty at a hearing before Hull Magistrates' Court. He had no previous convictions and he had shown remorse in an interview with the probation service.
Walker was given 30 days' rehabilitation and he was ordered to pay £150 costs. He was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for five years. Get all the latest crime and court news in Hull straight to your mobile via WhatsApp by clicking here .
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Judge Menary said that the best way to protect the public from someone like Walker, who had yet to accept that he had a sexual interest in children, was through rehabilitation work with the probation service. "You are a man who was of previous good character until this time," said Judge Menary. If a short prison sentence were imposed, there would be insufficient time in custody to complete any rehabilitation.
Judge Menary warned Walker that, if he buried his head in the sand and did not do the work, he faced being brought back to court and jailed. This would also be the case if he committed any further offences or did not register his details properly..
