August 2011

Sex beast lured Facebook girl

A Worcester man who confessed to a sexual and emotional interest in children struck up a friendship through Facebook with a 12-year-old girl.

She later told him her real age was 16, but when they met in Birmingham they had sex although he was twice her age.

Stephen Dempsey was said by Judge Alistair McCreath at Worcester Crown Court to give him “massive concern”.

Jailing him for 27 months, the judge described him as a paedophile from whom children should be protected.

Dempsey, aged 32, of Lear Close, Dines Green, pleaded guilty to inciting an act of gross indecency with a child and making indecent pictures and movies of children.

The judge said he had viewed the “vile” pictures of abused children which had been downloaded and it was necessary to restrict the use of the internet.

He could not understand the “enjoyment” of people who watched the images and they were contributing to the abuse of children.

Paul Whitfield, prosecuting, said Dempsey’s sexual attraction to children began in 2009 when he formed a friendship with a woman in Stoke.

He visited her and her three children but later distanced himself from the family because he was attracted to the eight-year-old daughter.

His activities came to light after he opened a Facebook account and began passing on explicit messages expressing his love.

When police seized his computer, indecent pictures were found and he lied that the computer had been borrowed by a friend.

Dempsey, whose previous offence was an assault on police, first denied that he had sexual contact with the young girl.

But his counsel, Jason Aris, said he now accepted full responsibility for his behaviour and knew he had done wrong.

He was in a settled relationship and his partner was standing by him.

He had undertaken courses in higher education and was desperate to get a job under the Get to Work programme.

Dempsey was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

A sexual offences prevention order banning contact with females under 16 and restricting access to the internet was made for an indefinite period.