Phillip Smith

Phillip Smith, a 52-year-old man from Beeston, Nottinghamshire, was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court for attempting to engage in sexual communication with children and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Smith had contacted three individuals on Facebook whom he believed to be girls aged 13, 14, and 14, sending them explicit messages and requesting explicit pictures.

Unbeknownst to Smith, these 'girls' were actually undercover members of an online child safety group. The group confronted Smith in Beeston after gathering evidence of his inappropriate communications. They subsequently shared this evidence with Nottinghamshire Police, leading to his arrest.

The court heard that Smith was already subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order due to prior similar sexual offences. On Wednesday, 7 January 2026, he pleaded guilty to the charges and was jailed for two-and-a-half years. Detective Sergeant Elizabeth Gray of Nottinghamshire Police’s public protection team commented: “Smith committed serious sexual offences with people he believed to be only 13 or 14 years old. Thankfully this was not the case and no children were harmed by his actions. But he knew perfectly well that what he was doing was wrong and he has rightly been punished.”

Nottinghamshire Police emphasised their commitment to acting on information from the public and activist groups to protect children from online predators. The case underscores the dangers of online grooming and the effectiveness of community vigilance in preventing harm to minors.