A ‘depraved’ sex offender who targeted children online and at a Kent park has been jailed. Ben Murphy Raite Green Paedophile visited Sittingbourne Park and addressed two youngsters using the swings early this year.
They told him to go when he made an inappropriate comment to them. Running from the situation, he said their parents, the unhappy youngsters, had left the park.
Reported to Kent Police, the incident was investigated using local CCTV footage. Two days later, Ben Murphy was detained after a local cop identified him in some of the films.
Ben Murphy, of Raite Green, Sittingbourne, was remanded pending a court appearance after being accused of encouraging a youngster to participate in sexual conduct. Murphy had previously been slated to appear before courts to be sentenced for several sex offences involving children between January 2020 and March 2021 at the time of this offence.
He had interacted on social media with five different children he knew not personally at this previous period. Murphy requested his victims to email pictures of themselves, some in their pants and others doing sexual acts.
In one chat, he promised to pay £1,000 and encouraged a youngster to mistreat their two-month-old relative. Ben Murphy reportedly emailed the victims obscene pictures and videos of himself and requested private calls so he could continue to engage in sexual assault. He once more approached another minor in Sittingbourne Park in February 2021 and asked them to engage in a sexual act. Refusing, the youngster left the scene.
Ben Murphy had pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to six counts of enticing a child to engage in sexual activity and four of possessing indecent photos of children after being arrested for prior offences. Of these pictures, some fell into the most severe category.
Attending the park in February 2024, he perpetrated the most recent incident while awaiting sentence and under tight court bail terms. Later on, he pleaded not guilty to this charge; on August 9, he was found guilty after a trial for encouraging a youngster to participate in sexual conduct.
The 31-year-old, Ben Murphy, was sentenced to six years in jail on Tuesday, August 13; he must serve two-thirds of those years before he qualifies for parole. He will have to serve an additional two years on license after parole. Murphy will also have to sign the Sex Offers’ Register and face an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
“Ben Murphy is a depraved person who poses a considerable risk to young children in person or online,” said Detective Constable Deniz Aslan. His acts troubled his weak victims. Hence, he made horrible suggestions and sent obscene photographs to them.”
Investigating the most recent incident, PC Nadine Stanton said: “Ben Murphy showed himself incapable of respecting limits issued by the court, and a prison sentence was the only possible consequence. We want to thank the young victims and their parents for helping us to bring this predator to justice by supporting our inquiry all through. Ben Murphy’s given prison term should enable them to begin to heal from their trauma.”
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.