Yahoo News 'Incredibly depraved' man jailed after trying to meet children for sex
An "incredibly depraved" man who tried to meet a child for sex despite being investigated by police for a similar crime has been jailed for two years.
William Grassby, 49, was identified by two separate sting operations, one by the police and the second by members of the public.
The members of the public pretended to be a 14-year-old boy who talked to Grassby for a week before arranging to meet him for sex at Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield.
While being investigated for that incident Grassby also befriended an undercover police officer posing as a 12-year-old boy on social media.
He sent multiple sexual messages to the boy and asked to meet up and have sex.
After his arrest police searched his devices and found multiple sexual communications with suspected children.
According to the Sheffield Star, recorder Ian Mullarkey told Sheffield Crown Court he had "no confidence" that Grassby had a "realistic prospect of rehabilitation," after he committed a second lot of offences while under investigation for the first.
Grassby has also already completed a sex offenders' treatment programme as part of a sentence for previous offences.
He pled guilty to two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and one count of attempting to meet a boy under the age of 16 following grooming. He was jailed for two years.
He has also been issued a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and will remain on the sex offenders' register for a decade.
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Investigating officer Sarah Anderson said: “Grassby is an incredibly depraved individual with abhorrent intentions towards children.
“Grassby knew of both the children’s ages, and we have screenshots of messages where he’s arranging to meet with them out of the view of CCTV.
“This is obviously incredibly concerning for parents and carers of young children, particularly those who are on social media. If you have suspicions about who your child is speaking to online, I would urge you to contact us.”
