October 2018

Pervert was heading to Derby from Germany to abuse 11-year-old girl

A pervert flew from Germany with sweets and crayons in his luggage with the intention of sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl in Derby.

In reality, he had been sending sick messages to an undercover police officer who was posing as an underage girl.

Derby Crown Court heard how John O’Connor sent sexually explicit photographs of himself to “Emmy”, saying he would book a hotel in the city for them.

However on being arrested at Manchester Airport, he discovered the truth.

The hearing heard how the 52-year-old told “Emmy” he wanted to engage in a number of different sexual practices with her knowing she was not yet a teenager.

Jailing O’Connor for 18 months, Recorder Stephen Thomas said: “It really could not have got much worse in terms of what you were proposing you and Emmy did with each other.

“There was talk of you coming to Derby With the clear intention of engaging in sexual activity with Emmy.

“I have to bear in mind that Emmy did not actually exist but you did not know that.

“As far as you were concerned Emmy was an 11-year-old girl.”

Sarah Slater, prosecuting, said in June of this year, undercover police officers posed as Emmy and her mother on a chat room where it was believed O’Connor and other like-minded people were discussing child sex abuse.

She said quickly both officers had one-to-one direct conversations with him in which he made it clear he wanted to sexually abuse the girl.

Miss Slater said: “By July he sent photographs of his genitals and he talked to the ‘mother’ telling her he wanted to have full intercourse with her daughter.

“There were later actual telephone conversations between the ‘mother’ and the defendant where he told her he wanted to come to Derby and book a hotel where Emmy could come and stay over and sleep with him.”

Miss Slater said police were able to trace O’Connor to his home address in Hamburg, Germany, and when he flew to Manchester Airport, on August 28, he was arrested as he went through passport control.

Miss Slater said: “His luggage was searched and in it were colouring books, coloured pens, crayons and sweets which we say are consistent with someone coming to Derby to meet a girl the age of Emmy.”

In his police interview O’Connor, of Bethesda Strasse, Hamburg, told officers that his conversation with the two undercover officers was “fantasy”.

However he pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a girl aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

As well as the jail term, O’Connor as handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.