May 2019

Man jailed after sting by paedophile hunters

A pervert who groomed what he believed were two 14 year old schoolgirls has been jailed

Leslie Dodge, 45 of Basingstoke appeared at Winchester Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to and was sentenced for: 

• Attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child – 4 months imprisonment Consecutive to count 3

  Attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child – 4 months imprisonment Concurrent

  Arrange / facilitate the commission of a child sex offence – 12 months imprisonment

The court was told that Dodge had contacted the profiles of who he believed belonged to two 14 year old girls.

Dodge introduced himself and went on to send highly sexualised messages with the clear intent of engaging the girls into sexual activity.

The pervert arranged to meet one of the girls at a place and time of his choice.

However, when he arrived, Dodge was confronted by members of two paedophile hunters called Decoy Central and Scorpion Hunters UK who were acting on behalf of Angels Of Innocence.

The paedophile hunters explained that the girls did not exist and were instead adults pretending to be children in a bid to catch sexual predators who target children online.

The teams called the police who arrested Dodge at the scene

Dodge pled guilty prior to his trial and was sentenced to a total of 16 months imprisonment

The judge told him that he must adhere to a 10 year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and that he must register as a sex offender for ten years