Convicted sex offender back behind bars

Connor Hayes, 25 and of no fixed abode, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Monday 26 November 2018 after pleading guilty to two counts of causing or inciting a child aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity and causing a child aged 13 to 15 to watch a sexual act. He was sentenced to a total of 21 months in prison.

He was also told he would be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years and the previous Sexual Harm Prevention Order he was already subject to was to be extended to 2028 and amended to exclude him contacting girls aged under 16.

Hayes was jailed for two years in December 2016 after admitting to taking an indecent moving image of a child, possession of indecent images of a child and paying for the sexual services of a child. He befriended his victim in 2014 when the girl was aged over 16. Although she was over the age of consent she was aged under 18, which means it is illegal to make or possess indecent images of her. He and a second man got the girl to take part in a sex video claiming it was just for him, but subsequently uploaded it to the internet.

It was during the course of this investigation that the offences relating to the most recent convictions were discovered.

At the time of the offences Hayes was working as a webcam model, selling videos and live footage of himself engaging in sexual acts.

Hayes’s computer was seized and examined in October 2015. Messages were discovered between him and the victim. They were sexual in nature and alluded to the victim being aged 15. Hayes spoke about loving the girl and getting a hotel. He also suggested that they could engage in sex for money when she was 16 or 17. Also in 2015, he sent his victim a link to a pornographic website and made 53 Skype video calls to her.

When interviewed, the victim told officers she said Hayes first contacted her in 2014 when she was 14 via Facebook, and then over Skype. During the Skype videos Hayes asked the victim to undress and perform sexual acts. Hayes also exposed himself to the girl.

Hayes was arrested on 29 June 2016 and charged.

Detective Constable Mandy Brimicombe, of the Integrated Missing Persons & Child Sexual Exploitation Team (IMPACT), said, “Connor Hayes targets vulnerable teenage girls for his own sexual gratification. He knew full well that his victim on this occasion was under age and that it was a serious criminal offence.

“Nationally, online child grooming offences have increased. This is as a result of more and more young people using social media, but also due to the police and other agencies becoming much better at identifying offenders.

“Many social media platforms work with the police and we regularly receive referrals directly from social media companies to investigate. However, educating young people on internet use is by far the best thing we as a society can do.

“Simple measures such as only allowing children to use devices online with a parent present and not allowing devices to be taken into the bathroom or bedroom would assist in preventing many of these offences.

“Dorset Police has continued to strengthen its response and resource capability to deal with sexual offences against children, with more officers in dedicated teams such as Child Sexual Exploitation, Child Abuse Investigation Team and Paedophile Online Investigation Team. Officers and staff receive specific training to ensure an awareness and understanding of these often complex crimes, which affect some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.

“There are guides online that can assist parents and provide advice, such as regular checking of phones and devices and putting restrictions on applications that are downloaded to devices.”