Hull sex offender sent 'absolutely vile' messages to '13-year-old girl' who turned out to be police officer

A seedy online sexual predator sent "absolutely vile" explicit messages to what he thought was a 13-year-old schoolgirl – but who was really an undercover police officer.

Lewis Broughton got a nasty shock when he realised to his horror that he had been duped all along and that the girl did not even exist. He was now "disgusted with himself" and felt a "sense of shame" at what he had done, Hull Crown Court heard.

Broughton, 35, of Inglemire Lane, Hull, admitted attempting to communicate sexually with a child between June 3 and July 15, 2021 and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

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Claire Holmes, prosecuting, said that undercover police arranged to have a profile of a decoy 13-year-old girl on the social media app Kik and Broughton started to send messages to it.

The fake girl said that she lived in Cheltenham, was at school in Year Eight and was just about to go to netball training. Broughton pretended to be 18 and he sent her explicit messages, including complimenting her on her looks and asking what sort of underwear she had.

He asked her what her bra size was and he talked about different types of sexual activity. "He clarified that he meant sex," said Miss Holmes.

Broughton asked intimate questions. "There was then talking about sex and whether it would hurt and the defendant indicated that he would be gentle," said Miss Holmes.

Broughton said that he would be prepared to meet the decoy girl and he sent a series of messages asking for more revealing pictures. He gave her instructions on how to touch herself intimately.

He was arrested on September 24, 2021. Communications between him and the girl were still on his phone as well as search terms suggesting a sexual interest in children.

Broughton claimed to police that he had been drinking at the time of the chats. The offences were charged as attempts because there was no real actual girl. He had convictions for fraud in 2016 and 2018.

Ben Hammersley, mitigating, said that Broughton had no convictions for similar offending and he made frank admissions during police interview.

"He acknowledges responsibility for the offending and there is a level of insight demonstrated in the letter that he has written, emblematic of sincere remorse," said Mr Hammersley.

"He is disgusted in himself, quite rightly. The messages are absolutely vile. He would never dream of doing anything like this again. He says that he has completely changed his frame of mind."

Broughton had a "sense of shame" and difficulty coming to terms with what he had done. "He does fully accept responsibility for what he did," said Mr Hammersley.

"Waiting for two years to know his fate has been no easy thing." Broughton had been working as a delivery driver for takeaway food.

Recorder David Kelly told Broughton: "You were communicating online with what you believed was a 13-year-old girl but was, in fact, an undercover police officer. You pretended that you were 18.

"You were holding explicit sexual conversations with a person you believed to be a 13-year-old girl. These are attempted offences. You were attempting the impossible."

Broughton was jailed for three years and four months. He was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for 10 years.