Mark Couser

Mark Couser, a 56-year-old man from Carlton Close, Normanton in West Yorkshire, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court for causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child. The case came to light after Couser began communicating with an undercover police officer on a masochistic dating website in September 2023. Unbeknownst to him, the officer was posing as a mother with an eight-year-old daughter, and Couser expressed explicit intentions to meet them for sexual purposes.

During their online exchanges, Couser made disturbing statements, telling the officer that he wanted to 'own a mother and daughter'. He requested an indecent image of the supposed daughter to verify the authenticity of the scenario and planned to meet at the officer's home address. However, he grew wary and did not attend the meeting. Couser was arrested on 9 October 2023, at which point he admitted to police that he suspected he was being set up.

The court heard that Couser had a prior conviction for blackmail in 2010, for which he was jailed for three years. In that earlier offence, he sent indecent images of children to an autistic woman and threatened to expose her as a paedophile. Mitigating on his behalf, barrister Mark Foley argued that Couser had an interest in internet sites for discussing sexual content but claimed he never intended to act on his words. Foley noted Couser's guilty plea as strong mitigation and highlighted his health issues, including a weight problem that left him virtually housebound.

Judge Richard Mansell KC imposed a nine-month jail sentence, suspended for two years. Couser was also ordered to complete 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days with probation, placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years, and subjected to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order to restrict his internet use. The case was investigated by West Yorkshire Police, underscoring their efforts to combat online child sexual exploitation.