Luke Pryor

Luke Pryor, a 29-year-old resident of Owler Road, Grimesthorpe, Sheffield, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on 27 November 2025 for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child aged between 13 and 15, as well as breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO). This marked his third conviction for similar offences within five years, highlighting a persistent pattern of behaviour targeting young girls online.

The latest incident occurred in October 2025, when Pryor initiated contact via a friend request on Facebook to a profile named 'Emily', operated by a paedophile hunter group. The profile clearly indicated that 'Emily' was 14 years old, and Pryor was informed of her age again in their second message exchange. Despite this, Pryor, who falsely claimed to be 17 or 20 years old, proceeded to send naked pictures of himself and videos depicting lewd acts. He repeatedly requested that 'Emily' send pictures of herself in progressively less clothing and asked about her sexual experience, even suggesting he could be 'her first'.

Prosecutor Ella Fornsworth described the communications as Pryor seeking out a 14-year-old girl to indulge in his proclivity for sexual messaging. The paedophile hunter group confronted Pryor at his Sheffield home and alerted the police, leading to his arrest. Pryor pleaded guilty to the charges. During the hearing on 26 and 27 November 2025, Judge Peter Hampton characterised Pryor as a 'determined sex offender' who seeks out children to satisfy his own perverted sexual desires, noting that previous sentences had failed to deter him.

• Pryor's prior convictions include a 2020 community order for three counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child and three counts of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, along with a 10-year SHPO.
• In 2022, he breached the SHPO by committing nearly identical offences against a decoy profile posing as a 13-year-old girl run by the group Defending the Innocent, resulting in a two-year prison sentence.
• Additionally, in September 2024, he breached his notification requirements as a registered sex offender.

Defence counsel Laura Marshall argued that Pryor was isolated and had not received mandated sex offender treatment since 2020, expressing his desperation to understand and control his behaviour. She suggested a suspended sentence to allow community-based intervention, but Judge Hampton rejected this, stating he had no confidence Pryor would not reoffend while under court orders. Pryor was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, a 20-year SHPO, and lifelong registration on the sex offenders' register. He appeared emotionless in court, dressed in a grey long-sleeved shirt, blue body warmer, and jeans, with the body warmer's collar pulled up to conceal part of his face.

The case was reported by The Star on 28 November 2025, based on court proceedings at Sheffield Crown Court. South Yorkshire Police were involved in the arrest following the vigilante confrontation.