Runcorn man jailed after sending explicit messages to a child

Connor Grant, 27, was handed a two year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child and one count of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity before he was due to start trial.

Between 20 August 2024 and 21 August 2024, Grant had directly messaged an account belonging to a 13-year-old girl. Unbeknownst to Grant, this account was a decoy account.

After initially engaging in conversation with the 'girl' on Facebook Messenger, she told Grant that she was 13 and he responded by saying "damn you're young" and that he was 27.

Grant provided her with his phone number and asked if they could continue talking on WhatsApp for fear that his account was being monitored by social services.

On WhatsApp the exchange quickly became sexual.

The child made it abundantly clear that she was under the age of consent, but this did not stop Grant from going into graphic detail about sexual intercourse and even sending her graphic videos and images of sexual acts and explaining the actions in them.

Grant then began to request images of her and even went so far as to tell the child that he could help her lose her virginity, despite saying that those who do engage in intercourse with anyone under the age of 16 can "get arrested big time and put on the sex offenders register... for life".

Despite this, he continued sending sexually explicit videos and images to her.

Throughout this conversation, Grant repeatedly requested that the girl delete the chats that had been recorded between them and asked whether her parents had gone through her phone.

His behaviour finally came to an end on 21 August 2024, when officers received a phone call from a paedophile hunter group, telling them they were outside of Grant's address and going to confront him.

Two officers attended the scene and found the group outside with Grant, who was initially calm, but after being told he was going to be placed in handcuffs he became aggressive.

Grant, refusing to be handcuffed, lashed out at officers whilst he was being captor sprayed, which resulted in the officers being injured by the spray itself. Despite this, they eventually secured Grant and he was taken into custody.

Following Grant's arrest, officers conducted a number of digital devices including mobile phones, game consoles and laptops with hard drives. Subsequent enquiries would reveal that the messages sent on both Facebook and WhatsApp were linked to his devices.

During his interview, Grant answered no comment to all questions posed to him regarding sexual communication with the child.

Despite refusing to answer any questions, Grant pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child and one count of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity in December 2024 and was sentenced to two years imprisonment on Friday 7 February.

He was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order that will remain active until 2035. Under the order, Grant is banned from being in any household where a child under 16 is present unless with the express approval of Social Services and having unsupervised communication with any female child under the age of 16.

Grant is also banned from using any device that can access the internet unless he notifies officers that he has access to it and can immediately provide it to them for inspection.

Detective Constable Becky Warburton, of the force's Protecting Vulnerable People Unit, said:

"Grant, by his own admission, was most definitely aware that what he was doing was wrong and was only out to satisfy his own warped sexual desires.

"Whilst, in this instance, there was no direct victim involved, Grant's conviction means that we have taken a dangerous paedophile, who was intent on using the internet and social media to sexually exploit vulnerable people, off of the streets. 

"Not only this but following his release from prison, Grant will be continually monitored by our officers under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to ensure that he does not reoffend.

“We are committed to pursuing and bringing to justice those who engage in online child sexual exploitation and play a part in the sexual abuse of children, and I hope that the sentence that has been handed to Grant deters others from committing similar offences.”

To report any sexual offence call Cheshire Constabulary on 101 or visit cheshire.police.uk/ro/report/rsa/alpha-v1/v1/rape-sexual-assault-other-sexual-offences. Always call 999 in an emergency.

Information can also be passed anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.