Christopher Farina, the Morecambe Paedophile, a man who sought to engage in sexual behaviour with a teenage boy in Lancaster, was apprehended by paedophile hunters upon his arrival for the meeting.
Christopher Farina, 58, initiated a conversation with an individual he presumed to be ‘Kayden’, a 14-year-old male, on the Romeo application in February 2023. For around three weeks, Farina participated in sexual discourse, which involved transmitting an image of his genitalia.
The court heard that he requested Kayden for a photograph of himself in his jammies. On March 1, Christopher Farina scheduled a meeting with the boy at Asda in Lancaster. Upon his arrival, he was confronted by members of the Save Our Children Online (SOCO) paedophile hunters group, who forcibly subdued him to the ground and restrained him.
Christopher Farina, who is completely deaf and has cognitive impairments, was incapable of communicating or comprehending the spoken discourse. Officers from Lancashire Police came and were presented with screenshots of the discussions that occurred.
The group built a false profile, utilising an image of a little child, to serve as a decoy. Christopher Farina, residing on Birklands Avenue in Morecambe, admitted guilt to the charge of attempted sexual communication with a minor.
He informed a probation officer that he had visited the Romeo site due to feelings of loneliness and a desire to find companionship, but he had not explicitly sought an underage lad. When ‘Kayden’ directed his attention towards him, he persisted in the chat, notwithstanding the disclosure of his age being merely 14.
Christopher Farina was supported by a British Sign Language interpreter in court, due to his communication difficulties.
Judge Philip Parry said: “You were searching for friends or a partner. You know enough in life to know you shouldn’t have communicated sexually in the way you did with a young boy. I know you have social inadequacies, learning difficulties and communication difficulties, but you also know and accept that you have very worrying sexual thoughts about children.
“You accept you don’t want this to happen and you are worried about it but that is the reason you carried on talking to someone who you thought was 14.”
The court heard Christopher Farina had a difficult childhood, after being sent to boarding school when he was four years old. He also has a previous conviction for indecently assaulting a boy under 16 in the 1990s.
Judge Parry said: “You made a terrible decision in February last year to continue with a sexual chat with a boy you thought was 14. You should have ended that conversation immediately but you were sexually excited by it. I am pleased to see you recognise you have a problem that needs addressing.”
He handed down a two year community order with 40 days rehabilitation activities. He also made him the subject of notification requirements – also known as the sex offenders register, for 10 years.
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