July 2012

Didcot step-father posed as girl to snare online paedophile

A MAN posed as his step-daughter online to snare a paedophile and last night said: “I just wanted to nail him”.

The Didcot resident acted after David Gregory, 39, sent his 12-year-old step-daughter sexual messages and a photo of his genitals. Gregory contacted the girl through YouTube just five minutes after she uploaded a video of her and friends dancing to Michael Jackson.

After getting her email address, they chatted on MSN, where Gregory talked about sex and asked for pictures and a webcam chat.

The disgusted girl left the PC only for her mother to find the messages, calling her husband to investigate.

He got Gregory to appear on live video webcam, and took screen shots, which he passed to police. This, along with a distinctive tattoo, helped police find Gregory and other indecent images.

He was this week jailed for two years having admitted a string of child sex charges.

The girl’s step-father said: “My immediate reaction was ‘what is this? How has he got in touch with her?’ I had to find out who he was.”

The outraged dad said he worked youth “lingo” into the conversation to convince Gregory he was his step-daughter.

He said: “I was angry, I just wanted to nail him. We thought ‘who else is he doing this to?’”

Police arrived within 20 minutes, he said. He added: “The bottom line is, be wary of who your children are talking to.”

Her mother said: “If it happened to another girl I couldn’t forgive myself. It is up the parents and the children to be more aware of who is out there and to watch what you post.”

The girl told police she was “disgusted” and “panicky and shocked” by the picture.

She told the Oxford Mail: “It was a bit scary, he is revolting.”

Police found pictures and videos of children, some rated at the most depraved level, at Gregory’s home in Golding Close, Daventry, Northants.

He was jailed at Oxford Crown Court on Monday having earlier admitted inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to engage in sexual activity in the presence of a child and three counts of making indecent images of children.

Sophia Wood – defending Gregory, who has a 1991 conviction for indecent exposure – said her client was “remorseful”.

She said: “At the time of the offences he was suffering from low self-esteem and feelings of isolation.”

Judge Julian Hall told Gregory: “Within a few minutes of his step-daughter posting an innocent dance routine on the net you’re chatting her up, and it comes to the point where you are encouraging her to play with herself and show her your erect penis, and of course you use the internet to download images of a pornographic nature.”

He said he took his depression into account but said: “I cannot rid myself of the sense of outrage at the way you have behaved.”

Gregory will be on the sex offenders’ register for seven years and cannot access the internet unsupervised indefinitely.