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A 64-year-old man has been jailed for three years after he encouraged what he believed was a 12-year-old girl - but was in fact an adult woman - to engage in sex acts, leading police officers to uncover more than 200 indecent images.
James William Gervaise Le Gros will have to pay £5,000 towards the prosecution costs while his name will stay on the Sex Offenders' Register for at least seven years.
Presenting the case to the Royal Court this morning, Crown Advocate Richard Pedley said Le Gros had exchanged messages on an online app with an adult woman posing as ‘Lucy’, a 12-year-old girl.
Le Gros initiated the contact on 11 April 2019, presenting himself as a 34-year-old man from Newcastle. Over the six days he communicated with ‘Lucy’, Le Gros sent several explicit messages, suggesting the girl engage in sexual acts. He also encouraged her to experiment in kissing with boys and girls.
The woman posing as Lucy - a UK resident who is part of a volunteer group who go online to find paedophiles operating on chat groups - alerted the police in Jersey and officers arrested Le Gros in June 2019.
They seized 50 electronic devices, including Le Gros’ phone, which was hidden behind a radiator. HiTech Crime found 243 indecent images of children which had been made over the course of six years.
Pictured: Le Gros was sentenced in Royal Court this morning.
In addition to the images, officers found evidence that Le Gros had shared an indecent image with another woman, with whom he had discussed women having sexual relations with boys. Le Gros’s correspondent herself described sexual activity with her nephew in graphic terms, apparently as it was happening, with Le Gros offering suggestions as to what she should do, the Court heard.
In another online conversation, Le Gros mentioned having distributed images of underage girls online, which Crown Advocate Pedley said would inform the Court as to “the wider behaviours of the Defendant and the context within which these offences were committed."
In interview, Le Gros admitted his discussion with 'Lucy' was for sexual gratification and a “fantasy” because he had a low libido. He initially said he was “pretty sure” she was underage, but later said he had doubts about her age due to her level of language and the fact she was online late at night.
Pictured: Advocate Olaf Blakely was defending Le Gros.
The Court heard that Le Gros had previously been interviewed by the police over his contact with an underage girl, although he had not been charged with any offence at the time.
Reading from a psychological report, Crown Advocate Pedley said Le Gros had admitted “fantasies around children exploring their sexuality,” adding he couldn’t promise he would not look at indecent images again, although he said he was prepared to address his issues.
He described the offences as a “worrying development” in Le Gros’ interest in young children, noting how his previous involvement with the police had done nothing “to curb his actions."
Advocate Olaf Blakeley, defending, handed the court a series of letters of reference, as well as one written by Le Gros himself, to the Court.
He drew the Court’s attention to the fact Le Gros hadn’t denied his interest in young girls, instead being honest, cooperative and totally candid with the psychologist.
He then asked the Court to consider what purpose a longer sentence would serve in the case of a man committed to change.
Advocate Blakeley highlighted Le Gros’ “very strong supportive network”, noting how his family and friends were standing by him even though they were aware of his offending.
He said Le Gros was very sorry for what he had done and committed to address his issues, before concluding that the appropriate sentence would be one or two years.
Pictured: The Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae, was sitting with Jurats Kim Averty and Dr Gareth Hughes.
Returning the Court’s sentence, Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae, who was sitting with Jurats Kim Averty and Dr Gareth Hughes, noted Le Gros' previously good character.
Referring to his involvement with the police in 2012, he said Le Gros “knew he was at risk by doing what he was doing."
He noted how the distribution of indecent images, and Le Gros’ graphic online discussions, had been described as an “escalation of his offending” by a doctor and a probation officer, with his discussion with ‘Lucy’ being a “further escalation."
The Deputy Bailiff warned Le Gros his sentence would have been significantly higher if he had been talking to a real child and not an adult posing a child.
“You regard 13-year-olds as young adults exploring their sexuality, not as the child victim which they are,” the Deputy Bailiff added.
He then went on to note Le Gros’ good working record and relationship with his family, adding that the Court had taken into account the letters which “speak highly of him, even today."
He then imposed a three-year prison sentence and ordered for Le Gros’ name to remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for at least seven years.
He also ordered Le Gros to pay £5,000 towards the prosecution's costs, as well as the destruction of the devices on which indecent images had been found.
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