Neil Higgins, a 45-year-old man from Peterborough, has been sentenced to four years and six months in prison for attempting to groom underage girls online. The offences occurred between September 17 and October 13, 2020, when Higgins used messaging applications to contact individuals he believed to be four girls under the age of 16. Unbeknownst to him, these 'girls' were actually undercover adults set up by police as part of an operation to catch online predators.
Higgins, who had a prior conviction in 2014 for making indecent images of children and had been on the Sex Offenders Register until September 2019, reoffended just a year after coming off the register. In his messages, he requested photographs of the 'girls' in their underwear, asked them to meet up in person, and urged them to perform sexual acts on themselves. Further police investigations revealed that Higgins had messaged approximately 200 other individuals, with 11 indicating they were under 16. Out of 15 different child profiles he contacted, police confirmed he attempted to cause or incite two to engage in sexual activity, requested pictures from 12, and made inappropriate comments to 13, telling them they were 'sexy'.
Higgins was arrested on October 13, 2020, after the undercover officers reported his communications to the police. A search of his home in Peterborough at the time uncovered a small amount of cannabis, leading to an additional charge. During his police interview, Higgins admitted to sending the messages but claimed he had no intention of following through with the acts, such as meeting the girls or engaging in sex. He described himself as being in a 'dark place mentally' at the time, which he said drove him to offend again, and denounced those who would act on such intentions as 'sick in the head'.
He was charged with possessing cannabis, four counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and two counts of attempting to cause or incite a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity. Higgins pleaded guilty to all charges at Cambridge Crown Court on May 4, 2021. His sentencing took place at Peterborough Crown Court on July 19, 2021, before Judge Sean Enright.
In passing sentence, Judge Enright remarked that Higgins had shown a 'determined and sustained effort to meet young girls for sex' and displayed no remorse for his crimes. In addition to the custodial sentence, the judge imposed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to monitor any future offending and prevent further harm. Mark Escott, from the Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) at Cambridgeshire Police, highlighted the force's commitment to tackling online grooming, stating: 'We will do all we can to bring those to justice who use the internet in this way - to groom and try to meet children under 16. Higgins’ behaviour was shocking and inappropriate.'
The case underscores the dangers of online exploitation, with Higgins' actions targeting vulnerable profiles posing as children. Cambridgeshire Police continue to prioritise protecting young people from such predators through dedicated online investigations.