Paedophile, 52, jailed after police double bluffed him by pretending to be an 11-year-old girl
- Anthony Nelson set up Facebook profile using picture of a 14-year-old girl
- He befriended an 11-year-old girl who became concerned and told parents
- Police were informed and an undercover officer monitored his messages
- He has now been jailed for four years and eight months
By JAMES RUSH PUBLISHED: 19:35 GMT, 13 August 2013 | UPDATED: 19:52 GMT, 13 August 2013
Anthony Nelson has been jailed for four years and eight months after pretending to be a 14-year-old girl on Facebook to groom victims
A paedophile who posed as a 14-year-old schoolgirl on Facebook to groom victims was caught out in a double-bluff by a police officer pretending to be an 11-year-old, a court has heard. Anthony Nelson, 52, was jailed for four years and eight months for inciting a child to have sex, attempting to have sex with a child and possessing hundreds of indecent images of children. The recluse, who lived life over the internet, set up a Facebook profile using a picture of a 14-year-old girl, Teesside Crown Court heard. Using the fake profile, he then befriended an 11-year-old girl and tried to incite her to get in contact with his fictitious character’s mother’s boyfriend Craig. The girl became concerned and told her parents who contacted police.
An undercover officer, given the pseudonym Detective Constable Si Fleming for the court case, took over the victim’s Facebook account and monitored Nelson’s increasingly twisted messages. Martin Towers, prosecuting, said: 'In effect, there were two older men communicating with each other in the guise of schoolgirls.' Nelson, from Shildon, County Durham, switched from Facebook to text to communicate with who he thought was a child. Even when the defendant was told the girl he thought he was grooming was 11, he carried on. He even demanded a threesome with the girl, the court heard. Nelson, using the same schoolgirl profile, also tried to groom a 15-year-old from the Thames Valley area. That girl stopped contact when 'it started to get a bit out of control', she later told police.
He sent both girls sexual messages, the court heard, but never met either of them.Carl Swift, defending, said Nelson’s long work-hours effectively made him a recluse.'Accordingly, he led most of his life on the internet. That kind of lifestyle drifted into what he accepts was quite disgusting criminal conduct that was ultimately uncovered by the officers in the case,' he said.
Teesside Crown Court (pictured) heard how Nelson also tried to groom a 15-year-old from the Thames Valley area
After he was arrested, police seized computers and found 1,400 indecent images of children and four films of bestiality. Judge Peter Armstrong sentenced him to four years for inciting or attempting to have sex with children and eight months consecutively for the indecent images charges. He told Nelson, who kept his head bowed throughout the proceedings, that the undercover officer deserved praise for the long hours he spent posing as a child. 'That officer is to be commended for his work in bringing together the case against you,' the judge said. 'No doubt there was considerable upset and distress and that officer clearly did an excellent job in bringing you to justice.'
Anthony Nelson has been jailed for four years and eight months after pretending to be a 14-year-old girl on Facebook to groom victims
A paedophile who posed as a 14-year-old schoolgirl on Facebook to groom victims was caught out in a double-bluff by a police officer pretending to be an 11-year-old, a court has heard. Anthony Nelson, 52, was jailed for four years and eight months for inciting a child to have sex, attempting to have sex with a child and possessing hundreds of indecent images of children. The recluse, who lived life over the internet, set up a Facebook profile using a picture of a 14-year-old girl, Teesside Crown Court heard. Using the fake profile, he then befriended an 11-year-old girl and tried to incite her to get in contact with his fictitious character’s mother’s boyfriend Craig. The girl became concerned and told her parents who contacted police.
An undercover officer, given the pseudonym Detective Constable Si Fleming for the court case, took over the victim’s Facebook account and monitored Nelson’s increasingly twisted messages. Martin Towers, prosecuting, said: 'In effect, there were two older men communicating with each other in the guise of schoolgirls.' Nelson, from Shildon, County Durham, switched from Facebook to text to communicate with who he thought was a child. Even when the defendant was told the girl he thought he was grooming was 11, he carried on. He even demanded a threesome with the girl, the court heard. Nelson, using the same schoolgirl profile, also tried to groom a 15-year-old from the Thames Valley area. That girl stopped contact when 'it started to get a bit out of control', she later told police.
He sent both girls sexual messages, the court heard, but never met either of them.Carl Swift, defending, said Nelson’s long work-hours effectively made him a recluse.'Accordingly, he led most of his life on the internet. That kind of lifestyle drifted into what he accepts was quite disgusting criminal conduct that was ultimately uncovered by the officers in the case,' he said.
Teesside Crown Court (pictured) heard how Nelson also tried to groom a 15-year-old from the Thames Valley area
After he was arrested, police seized computers and found 1,400 indecent images of children and four films of bestiality. Judge Peter Armstrong sentenced him to four years for inciting or attempting to have sex with children and eight months consecutively for the indecent images charges. He told Nelson, who kept his head bowed throughout the proceedings, that the undercover officer deserved praise for the long hours he spent posing as a child. 'That officer is to be commended for his work in bringing together the case against you,' the judge said. 'No doubt there was considerable upset and distress and that officer clearly did an excellent job in bringing you to justice.'
