Paedophile who preyed on young girl he met on gaming platform jailed

A paedophile from Yorkshire who targeted a young girl after meeting her on a gaming platform has been jailed for more than eight years.

Samuel Sutcliffe met the girl on a gaming platform in 2021, who then added him on Facebook, before the conversation progressed to WhatsApp using pseudonyms.

The 29-year-old began sending his victim, who was from Hereford, indecent images of himself and put pressure on her to meet him, which she eventually did.

Sutcliffe, of Rothwell in Leeds, then made her perform sexual acts on him. He later had sex with her on several occasions.

Alarm bells were raised by the victim’s carers after she went missing and travelled to meet Sutcliffe.

He was arrested by South Yorkshire Police in Leeds and taken to court.

He was jailed for eight and a half years at Worcester Crown Court on September 25 for two counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child aged 13 to 15; two counts of causing/inciting non-penetrative sexual activity with a child aged 13 to 15; two counts of taking an indecent photo or pseudo photo of a child and one count of non-penetrative sexual activity with a child aged 13 to 15.

He has also been made to sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years, made subject to a sexual prevention harm order for 10 years and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £190.

Detective Constable Lia Williams, of West Mercia Police’s Hereford CID, said: “We are pleased to get this custodial term for Sutcliffe, who preyed on a vulnerable teenage girl for his own perverted gratification.

“We hope this shows we take reports of child sexual exploitation seriously and will always act when such incidents are reported to us.

“This case also highlights the need for responsible adults to monitor their children’s online activities and report any concerns to us if they feel something is not right or they may be being exploited.”