Darren Stapleton, a 56-year-old man from Great Staughton near St Neots in Cambridgeshire, was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on 30 May 2024 after pleading guilty to multiple child sex offences.
Between October and December 2022, Stapleton engaged in online conversations on messaging platforms with an undercover police officer posing as a nine-year-old girl. During these exchanges, he expressed his desire to touch and have sex with the 'girl', and even agreed to a specific time and date to meet up. Although he did not respond to further messages, his intentions were clear from the explicit nature of the communications.
Subsequently, from December 2022 to January 2023, Stapleton began another online conversation with a second undercover officer pretending to be a 13-year-old girl. He sent an inappropriate photo of himself and stated his wish to have sex with her and touch her, further demonstrating his predatory behaviour.
On 11 February 2023, officers from Cambridgeshire Constabulary arrested Stapleton at his home on Beauchampstead Road in Great Staughton. They seized several devices, including mobile phones, laptops, and hard drives, which were found to contain 126 indecent images of children, 463 images of bestiality, and 942 other images categorised as extreme pornography.
At Cambridge Crown Court, Stapleton was sentenced to four years in prison, with an additional two years on licence. He pleaded guilty to attempting to arrange the commission of a child sex offence, attempting to sexually communicate with a child, possessing an extreme pornographic image, and three counts of making indecent images of children. Additionally, he was issued a 20-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Detective Sergeant Julia Boon of Cambridgeshire Constabulary commented on the case, stating: 'Although Stapleton didn’t sexually abuse a child, he showed intent to, and the images found at his home also show he is a danger to children. A child is victimised when an indecent image is taken and every time it is viewed or shared.' The case was reported by the Hunts Post, highlighting the dangers of online grooming and the effectiveness of undercover operations in protecting children.