'Abominable' man jailed for arranging to rape child after explicit messages to decoy

A Hull man has been jailed after arranging to meet someone he believed was offering a one-year-old child for him to sexually abuse.

An investigation into Daniel O’Flynn, 37, of Great Union Street, Hull, was launched by the Police Online Investigation Team (POLIT) in November 2025, working alongside the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit.

O’Flynn had been flagged after sending multiple extreme pornographic and perverse messages through an unregulated porn site.

He went on to send hundreds of sexually explicit messages to a decoy profile, who he believed was a registered sex offender with a one-year-old child they were offering to O’Flynn to abuse.

The online conversations continued over the course of a week, during which O’Flynn arranged to meet the decoy for the purpose of abusing the child.

He also requested indecent images and sent photos and videos while performing sexual acts on himself.

After arranging to meet the decoy, O’Flynn was arrested by officers at Hull Paragon Train Station, a few days after the online conversation had begun.

When asked to hand over his phone following his arrest, O’Flynn refused and would not provide officers with his PIN, claiming he did not know it.

This breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order already in place in connection with a separate incident.

Analysis of O’Flynn's mobile phone linked him to the offences and revealed he was also in possession of indecent images of children.

During police interview, O’Flynn claimed he had been attempting to catch paedophiles and that anything found on his phone was there for that purpose.

He also claimed some of the images and videos of himself were AI-generated and denied carrying out the acts, despite police recovering videos from other devices found in his room.

In February 2026, O’Flynn pleaded guilty to arranging the commission of the rape of a child, arranging the commission of oral rape of a child and possession of indecent images of a child.

He remained on remand until his sentencing at Hull Crown Court on Monday (Aug 24).

O’Flynn was sentenced to nine years in prison and will be required to remain in custody for a further three years after being deemed a dangerous offender.

He will also be on the Sex Offenders Register for life and was handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Detective Constable Amy Gee leading the investigation from our Police Online Investigation Department said: “O’Flynn is an abominable individual whose online presence showed utterly vile language, behaviour, photos, and videos.

“He specifically sought out who he believed to be a registered sex offender who was offering their child for O’Flynn to abuse all for his own atrocious sexual intentions.

“Whilst this incident involved a decoy, I hope the sentencing will provide a sense of justice, knowing a sexual predator like O’Flynn is off our streets.

“This result has seen an extremely dangerous man put behind bars. O’Flynn’s depraved actions have no place in our society, and we welcome the sentence and the orders that have been imposed on him to ensure close monitoring once he is released, and to prevent any further offending in the future.

“We take reports of all sexual offences incredibly seriously and will continue to seek prosecution against anybody who thinks it is okay to commit these types of offences.”