A paedophile, who described himself as a "creepy and dirty old man", has been put behind bars for six years after being found guilty of attempting to engage in online sexual offences with multiple children.
Geoffrey Douthwaite, 59, of Woodlands Drive, Thetford, was caught as a result of child 'decoy' stings by online child abuse activist groups (OCAGs).
He created a Facebook profile using the name "Daffy Daffy" and engaged in sexual communication with 11 child decoys in total being operated by members of four different OCAGs posing as underage children between January 3, 2021 and May 1, 2021.
During conversations Douthwaite initiated between the female child decoys, he admits knowing their ages while making inappropriate comments, asking for nude photographs and video calls with decoys ranging in age from 11 to 14 years old.
He made comments about being much older and labelled himself a "creepy" and "dirty old man".
In one comment to a decoy 14-year-old girl named 'Charlie' on Facebook, he said "14 is the perfect age to see if someone is hot and I certainly think you are."
In others, he is much more explicit and asks for video calls to ask for or show sexual acts.
Norfolk Police were alerted after one of the OCAG groups confronted Douthwaite at his address.
Facebook messages were shared with police and he was arrested that afternoon on suspicion of engaging in sexual activity with a child and possession of indecent images of children.
A search was subsequently carried out at Douthwaite’s address and his internet-enabled devices were seized for examination. He was further arrested on suspicion of engaging in sexual communication with a child relating to his messages with other child ‘decoys’.
DC Mathew Symonds said: “Protecting children is a priority for us and we work relentlessly, using a variety of tools and methods to investigate and gather evidence lawfully to bring prosecutions where we can.
"As a result of the information we received, officers searched Douthwaite’s home and were able to secure evidence of these conversations."
Douthwaite pleaded guilty at Norwich Crown Court on Thursday, November 17, after being found guilty of 11 counts of an adult inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, five counts of inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, one count of attempting to incite a child to look at sexual activity and one attempt to incite a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity.
Douthwaite also had his devices destroyed and received an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
DC Mathew Symonds added: "While it was members of the online child abuse activist group that brought this to our attention, there are legitimate ways for the public to support the police and share information.
"Unlike our officers these groups don’t offer any protection to victims or safeguarding considerations. The increase in these groups is symptomatic of the increasing scale of child sexual abuse that police are dealing with.
"It reinforces the need for technology companies to do more to prevent offenders using their platforms to prey on children and for children and parents to be educated about healthy relationships and staying safe online.”
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