A 'disgusting' paedophile who believed he was communicating with a 12-year-old girl on Snapchat has been jailed after being caught in a police sting operation.
Details of the Offence
Christopher Webb, 38, of Tilesford, near Pershore in Worcestershire, began chatting with a person he thought was a girl aged 12 on the social media platform Snapchat. He then moved the conversation to WhatsApp and sent explicit images of himself. Webb asked the 'girl' to send similar photos and arranged to meet her at Gloucester railway station on March 26, 2025, with the intention of having sex with her.
He continued to communicate his 'perverted' desires and travelled to the station, where he was met by undercover officers from West Mercia Police, who had been posing as the girl. Upon arrest, Webb was found carrying a black bag containing an envelope full of girls' underwear with his address on it. Phone searches confirmed his Snapchat account and web searches including 'do under 16s need a train ticket', proving he knew his intended victim was underage.
Court Proceedings
At Worcester Crown Court on Friday, April 24, Webb was found guilty of causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity with penetration, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming. He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years for the first offence, ten months concurrently for the second, and two years and three months concurrently for the third. He was also ordered to pay a £228 victim surcharge.
Webb was placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) lasting ten years. The SHPO bans him from unsupervised contact with any female under 18 and from using any internet-capable device unless he notifies police within 48 hours. Such devices must retain and display web history, with no attempts to delete it.
Police Response
Detective Constable Rich Britton, from West Mercia's Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team (OCSET), said: 'We are pleased to put this paedophile behind bars before he could carry out any of his disgusting intentions on an actual child. This operation was a good result to protect potential victims from his depraved behaviour. Webb was caught red-handed thinking he was speaking online to a girl. We would warn any other individuals thinking of communicating with a child and attempting to arrange sexual activity like this that it could be the police and you too could be sent to prison.'
Advice on child abuse and sexual exploitation can be found on the West Mercia Police website. Sexual offences and rape can be reported directly to the force or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
