A former automation engineer has narrowly avoided jail after he admitted engaging in lurid sex chats with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
Liam Brown, 34, from York, sent the ‘girl’ pictures of his private parts and asked her to send him lewd photos of herself during the debauched online chats, not realising he was in fact chatting to an undercover police officer posing as a child, York Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Beth Richardson said the sex chats took place on Snapchat in July 2024 when, right from the off, Brown sent the ‘girl’ intimate pictures of himself after she told him she was 13 years old.
She said that Brown – who was pumped up with steroids at the time to bulk up his frame as a competition-level bodybuilder – went by the Snapchat username of ‘No Time to Talk’ when he sent a private message to the ‘girl’ on July 9, along with an intimate picture of himself.
The undercover officer, in the guise of a young girl, asked for his age and Brown told her that he was 19 years’ old, when in fact he was 32 at the time.
She told him she was a 13-year-old from southern England, to which Brown replied: “It can be out secret.”
“The defendant made a number of sexual comments saying he was horny,” added Ms Richardson.
He asked her to send him some “naughty” pictures of herself.
Brown, of Church Lane, York, then sent her two videos featuring sexual acts and asked her to “Facetime him” so he could perform a lewd act in front of the camera “so she could watch or join in”.
“He asked her to talk dirty to him,” said Ms Richardson.
When the ‘girl’ told him that her mother was at home, Brown replied: ‘Don’t talk then – just watch and enjoy.”
When she reminded him of her age, Brown asked to see an intimate part of her body and sent her a third lewd video, then asked her to video-call him. He then explained to her how to perform a lewd act on herself.
Two days later, Brown asked the ‘girl’ to send him some “naughty snaps and videos” of herself.
“She sent him photos of herself in clothes and he asked her to take them off,” added Ms Richardson.
Brown then urged her to perform a sexual act on herself and send him a video of the act “so he could tell her if she was doing it right”.
About a week later, he sent her a video from the Porn Hub website and asked her for naked photos. He also urged her to get her friends “involved”.
The chats came to an end on July 31, 2024, when Brown sent the ‘girl’ another photo of his private parts but this time she didn’t respond and blocked his Snapchat account.
Brown, who had not hidden his phone number or email address, was quickly identified and arrested in August of that year when police seized his mobile phone containing incriminating evidence.
He was charged with attempted sexual communication with a child, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.
The offences, which occurred over a period of about three weeks between July 8 and August 1, 2024, were charged as attempts because Brown had been chatting to an adult decoy posing as a child.
He admitted all three offences and appeared for sentence yesterday (12 June).
‘Deeply ashamed’
Defence barrister Danielle Gilmour said that Brown, a father-of-one, had a hitherto clean record and was otherwise a “kind and caring”, hard-working man.
She said that Brown’s “deviant behaviour” two years ago was a “complete aberration in his character and his behaviour” at a time when he was using steroids which had driven his “quite shocking” deviancy.
She said that Brown had since stopped taking steroids and was “deeply ashamed and embarrassed” about his behaviour which was “purely fantasy-driven”.
She said that Brown had been working as an automation engineer and earning a salary of more than £40,000 a year before his arrest but he quit his job when the offences came to light.
Judge Deborah Sherwin said that Brown’s offences were so serious that they warranted a three-year prison sentence but, fortuitously for the defendant, a change in the law in March this year meant that, for the first time, jail sentences of such length can now be suspended.
She noted how Brown had since “tried to put things right” through cognitive behavioural therapy and had new work lined up.
She said that for those reasons, as well as Brown’s remorse and being “of otherwise positive character”, she could “just, but only just”, suspend the inevitable jail sentence.
Brown’s three-year prison sentence was suspended for two years and he was placed on the sex-offenders’ register for life.
After imposing sentence, Ms Sherwin told Brown: “Have no doubt, you have been very lucky today. Had you been dealt with before March this year, you would have been in prison.”
Brown was also made subject to a sexual-harm prevention order to curb his online activities. This order would also run for an indefinite period.
In addition, the judge ordered Brown to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and complete 40 rehabilitation-activity days.
