A Tameside sex pervert who ‘doggedly’ chased a girl of just 14 on Facebook in a bid to have sex with her was jailed for two years today.
The young teen was lured in by Joseph Flanagan, 23, of Ashton under Lyne, as pretended he only wanted to be friends with her.
But soon his messages became lurid and sexually explicit in a bid to entice her to meet him. Luckily the girl had the courage to tell her parents, which led to Flanagan’s arrest.
Flanagan, of no fixed address, was sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court to two years in prison for two counts of inciting a child to engage in penetrative sexual activity.
He will be subject to a sexual offences prevention order for 10 years and will have to sign the sex offenders register for the same length of time.
Detective Sergeant Dan Appleby from the Project Phoenix team, aimed at tackling child sexual exploitation in Tameside, said: “Flanagan groomed his victim and gave the impression he genuinely wanted to be friends. Little did she know that he would then begin to send graphic and sexual messages to her.
“Following the messages, she repeatedly told him that that what he was doing was against the law due to her age but he told her it could be their secret and no one would need to know.
“Flanagan doggedly pursued his sexual goal until the victim broke contact and told a family member.
“Thanks to the bravery of the victim and alertness of family members this offender was stopped in his tracks.”
On July 31, Flanagan contacted the teenager on Facebook having previously met her at Ashton Markets.
Flanagan sent the young girl messages in a friendly manner for a number of days.
The criminal then started to send graphic messages and images of himself before he asked her to meet up with him in Manchester town centre.
The victim then broke contact with him before she confided in a family member as to what happened.
Police were then called and the following investigation recovered messages sent over Facebook which lead to Flanagan’s arrest.
“Although the young person felt unable to provide evidence herself, the positive actions shown by her family members and the dedication of the officers involved enabled the police and the CPS to bring Flanagan to justice for what he has done,” added Detective Appleby.
“This serves as a message to those who are currently involved in this type of despicable crime that officers from the Phoenix Team in Tameside will find you.
“Victims of these crimes can be reassured that we will take all reports seriously and we will thoroughly investigate all cases with a view to putting offenders before the courts.”
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