A 41-year-old man from West Hallam has been jailed for nearly five years after grooming three young girls online and encouraging them to engage in sexual activity.
Richard Jackson, of Caversham Way, sent sexually explicit messages to the victims between 2020 and 2022, using social media to befriend them before manipulating and exploiting them.
Derbyshire Police said Jackson used Snapchat to send numerous graphic messages, including to one girl whom he admitted he knew was just 14 years old, telling her he was “willing to wait.”
The investigation began in May 2021 when the parents of one of the victims discovered the explicit messages on her device and alerted police. Jackson was arrested shortly afterwards.
In March this year, Jackson was charged with 18 offences, including:
- Three counts of sexual communication with a child
- Three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity
- 11 counts of possessing indecent images of a child
- One count of causing a child to look at an image of sexual activity
He admitted all charges and was sentenced at Derby Crown Court on 4 August to four years and nine months in prison.
A Derbyshire Police spokesperson said:
“Jackson’s actions caused significant harm to his victims. We hope this sentence serves as a reminder that we will not tolerate the grooming and exploitation of children, and we will take swift action to bring offenders to justice.”
Police have urged parents and guardians to regularly monitor children’s online activity and to report any suspicious contact immediately.
