Colchester man who sent sexual messages to decoy posing as 14-year-old boy jailed
A "sophisticated" Essex paedophile sent sexual messages to a decoy posing as a 14-year-old boy despite already being given a court order for previous crimes. Alastair Dixon, 35, was the subject of a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) when he sent the sexual messages and images to the decoy.
He was found to have made the communication in October 2024. He admitted the offence, despite the SHPO that had been imposed at Ipswich Crown Court in August 2023.
These orders place limits and monitoring conditions on offenders’ use of electronic devices and day-to-day activities. Essex Police's Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) team linked Dixon to other offences.
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Seven breaches of his SHPO included possessing of an unauthorised smart phone. It was also found that Dixon attempted to pervert the cause of justice by creating an email address in an innocent man’s name, before sharing a link containing indecent images of children.
He was arrested and charged with a range of offences, including attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity; attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child; seven breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order; failing to comply with notification requirements; and perverting the course of justice.
Dixon, from Pilborough Way, admitted each charge due to the evidence gathered against him and appeared for sentence at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday, January 22. He was sentenced to five years in prison and handed a lifelong SHPO, meaning he will be subject to notification requirements for the rest of his life.
When sentencing, Judge Emma Peters said he committed 'sophisticated, serious offences'. Detective Constable Jonathan Straight, from Essex Police's Colchester MOSOVO team, said: "Thanks to our ongoing work, there is a low rate of registered sex offenders re-offending in Essex. But we are not complacent, and where we see such flagrant breaches and fresh offences committed, we will take robust action.
"This case proves breaches will be put before the courts and attract a lengthy prison sentence. By enforcing these court orders, we can minimise the risk posed and harm caused by registered sex offenders.
"Although Dixon was not engaging with a real child in this case, he believed he was – and there was therefore clearly a risk of a child coming into contact with him online and suffering real harm."