The 27-year-old Windermere Paedophile, Callum Spedding, was revealed following his apprehension in a police operation that comprised an undercover officer masquerading online as a 13-year-old girl.
Upon confiscating the defendant’s digital devices, law enforcement uncovered evidence of his sexual grooming of a 13-year-old kid, although the victim was never accurately identified.
Callum Spedding, of Mill Brow, Droomer, Windermere, confessed to six offences: one count of producing an indecent image of a child, two charges of soliciting a child to participate in sexual conduct, and three counts of attempting to initiate sexual correspondence with a child.
Prosecutor Tim Evans delineated the charges at Carlisle Crown Court, all of which occurred in March 2020.
The first set of offences related to the police sting, when Callum Spedding began communicating online with a person who repeatedly identified herself as a 13-year-old girl.
During a series of online exchanges over several days, the defendant offered to buy her sweets and other treats – clothing, jewellery, and a phone; and he spoke to her about taking her to McDonald’s.
“It’d be cool to take you out and spoil you,” he told the ‘girl.’ As the contact continued, Callum Spedding’s conversation became increasingly sexual, said Mr Evans. He spoke of wanting to meet her and described explicitly the sexual contact he wanted with her.
The court heard that the defendant encouraged the girl to “practice” certain sex acts in preparation for a potential meeting.
It was after police raided the defendant’s home and arrested him on April 1, 2020, that officers examined his digital devices, they found incriminating evidence that Callum Spedding had also been grooming a boy.
Once again, the communication amounted to sexual grooming, with Callum Spedding discussing sexual matters, including his desire to sexually abuse the child in graphic detail.
Jack Troupe, defending, said the defendant had struggled to come to terms with the offences he had committed. He was also struggling with mental health difficulties, said the barrister.
But with three years having elapsed since the offending, there had been no repeat of the illegal behaviour, added Mr Troupe.
Judge Nicholas Barker told Callum Spedding that it was clear that he had genuinely believed he was communicating with children who were aged just 13. On March 20, 2020, he had clearly stepped up his attempt to sexually groom the girl, offering to buy her gifts.
Callum Spedding told the child he wanted to see her in swimwear.
In the days that followed, the communication became increasingly sexualised, with Spedding asking the “child” to send him indecent photos of herself.
The judge noted that Callum Spedding had been “socially isolated” but he rejected the defendant’s claim that his offending was triggered by the pandemic lockdown, given that the illegal behaviour began before the national lockdown.
The judge said: “You were socially isolated and you were suffering mental health conditions and continue to do so.” But a Probation officer had assessed Callum Spedding as posing a “direct risk” to children, given the extent of his efforts to have sexual contact with the two 13-year-olds.
Callum Spedding jailed the defendant for 31 months and put him on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely. Callum Spedding will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.
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