Ashley Coldwell

A 35-year-old man from Stoke-on-Trent has been sentenced for attempting to engage in sexual communication with what he believed was a 14-year-old boy, following a sting operation by paedophile hunters. Ashley Coldwell, of Egerton Street in Hanley, initiated contact via Instagram in November 2024 and quickly escalated the conversation to explicit content after moving to WhatsApp.

The interactions began on 3 November 2024 and continued until 12 January 2025. According to prosecutor Charlotte Morgan at North Staffordshire Justice Centre, Coldwell messaged the decoy account, which explicitly stated the user's age as 14. Coldwell expressed interest in meeting up but voiced concerns about potential trouble. The discussion soon turned sexual, with Coldwell fantasising about the decoy being at school and requesting pictures of the boy's feet.

• Initial contact made on Instagram, with age clearly stated as 14.
• Conversation shifted to WhatsApp for more private exchanges.
• Coldwell admitted to police that he knew his actions were wrong but provided no clear motivation during interviews with officers, his probation officer, or legal counsel.

David Ellis, mitigating for Coldwell, highlighted the defendant's lack of previous convictions and his stable long-term relationship with a male partner. 'Mr Coldwell hasn’t really given an explanation as to why this happened. He shut down like a deer in the headlights, presumably out of shock and shame,' Ellis stated. He emphasised that no actual victim was harmed, no physical meeting occurred, and Coldwell understood the seriousness of his offence despite the absence of physical activity.

Paedophile hunters from the group The Underworld confronted Coldwell in January 2025 after discovering the fictitious nature of the 'boy'. Magistrates at North Staffordshire Justice Centre imposed an 18-month community order, including 180 hours of unpaid labour and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days. Additionally, a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order was issued, prohibiting unsupervised contact with children and requiring police access to his internet-capable devices. The case was reported by Stoke-on-Trent Live on 15 October 2025, drawing attention to ongoing efforts by vigilante groups to combat online grooming in the region.