Stephen Hooper

Stephen Hooper, a 36-year-old man from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, appeared at Southend Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to six sexual offences on Thursday, November 20, 2024. The charges stemmed from his attempts to engage in inappropriate sexual communication with what he believed was a 13-year-old girl, as well as the possession and creation of indecent images of children.

The court heard that in 2024, Hooper sent explicit messages to the supposed 13-year-old, describing sexual acts and requesting to meet her to carry them out. Unbeknownst to him, the 'girl' was an undercover police officer posing online, leading to his arrest by Essex Police in spring 2024. Upon searching his electronic devices, officers discovered a significant collection of illegal material, including 42 Category A indecent images depicting penetrative or sadistic sexual abuse of children as young as four years old. Hooper also admitted to making Category A, B, and C indecent images between July 2022 and May 2024, as well as 76 indecent pseudo-photographs and possessing extreme pornography involving sexual intercourse between a human and a horse.

Despite the severity of the offences, Hooper had no previous convictions. Judge Samantha Leigh adjourned the sentencing to allow for a pre-sentence report from the probation service, with the hearing scheduled for mid-December 2024. However, the judge explained that due to the time Hooper had already spent on a 12-hour curfew under electronic monitoring since his arrest—equivalent to half-days served—even the maximum sentence of two years' immediate custody would be effectively served through this period. As most prisoners serve only 40% of their sentence before release on licence, his curfew time exceeded any potential custodial term.

"The sentence is not going to be immediate custody," Judge Leigh stated in court. Following his guilty pleas, Hooper was immediately required to register as a sex offender. The case was reported exclusively by Charles Thomson, Crime & Investigations Reporter for Essex Uncovered, highlighting the role of undercover operations by Essex Police in preventing child sexual exploitation.