A 20-year-old Carlisle man whose unhealthy sexual interest in children was exposed by a group of pedophile hunters has admitted to having a secret social media account for use with people under the age of 16.
Daniel Pearson suffered public humiliation as more than 75,000 people watched a video of him confronting his offence.
Aged 18 at the time, he used a social media website to have sexualized conversations with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, unaware that it was a voluntary lure from a group of pedophile hunters.
He had to leave his home after the moments he was first confronted by the pedophile hunters on his doorstep were broadcast live on the internet.
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Pearson was returned to Carlisle Crown Court this week to face a new allegation that he breached a sexual abuse prevention order by failing to disclose a Snapchat account he operated under a false name.
Gerard Rogerson, prosecuting, said the defendant was convicted on August 2 last year of attempting to entice a 13-year-old child to engage in sexual activity.
He received a three-year community order.
This included a sexual abuse prevention order, which requires police to strictly monitor his use of any internet-enabled device and a ban on him having unsupervised contact with a child.
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Less than an hour after pleading guilty, Pearson was questioned by police about whether he had any other social media accounts. He was also asked if he used pseudonyms in his online interactions.
He denied using any other social media accounts, Mr Rogerson said.
Yet five months later, the prosecutor said, the defendant’s offender manager arranged for the scan of Pearson’s cell phone and it was confirmed that he had an undisclosed Snapchat account.
It was illegal from the time his sexual abuse prevention order was imposed. Mr Rogerson said: “To sum up his interview, he admitted to not having complied with the notification [Sex Offender Register] terms.”
He told police he was afraid to release the Snapchat account. The fake name he used, he said, was given to him by a landlord so he could be relocated anonymously.
Mr Rogerson said Pearson had used the Snapchat account to communicate with people under the age of 16, but there was no evidence that contact was in any way sexual.
Mark Shepherd, defending, said the defendant’s commitment to his work to rehabilitate him had been “nothing less than enormous”. He also attended regular consultations. “He comes to this court today knowing that he made a huge error in judgment,” the attorney said.
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Unusually, Pearson, who admitted breaching his court order, had not denied his sexual propensity and wanted treatment to address it. His background included ‘childhood trauma’ and experience of ‘significant bullying’.
This provided a reason he sought the company of younger children, and social isolation had contributed to his offending. But the accused was now about to take up a new job.
Recorder David Tempkin QC noted the defendant’s “excellent progress” with his existing three-year community order, which includes a sex offender treatment programme.
He also acknowledged that Pearson was “eager to do the right thing.” The Recorder admitted that Pearson had struggled in his community, having had to relocate several times after his offense became public.
The Recorder imposed 16 weeks’ custody in a young offender facility, but suspended the sentence for 18 months. At the first sentencing hearing, Mr Shepherd said Pearson suffered from anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.
* A court order prohibits the News & Star from publishing the defendant’s current or former Carlisle address. The accused’s photo is used to properly identify Pearson.
* Cumbria Police have a detailed Child Sexual Exploitation webpage. It can be found here.
* The Lucy Faithfull Foundation runs the Stop It Now campaign, designed to prevent abuse by reaching out to people at risk of committing offences. Its website can be viewed here. The charity also runs a confidential helpline, the number is: 0808 1000 900
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