Christopher Sheldrick

A former police officer from Norfolk has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements.

Christopher Sheldrick, 56, from Suffield Road, Gorleston, was confronted at his home on 29 September 2024 by the Ghosts Online Child Protection Team, a group of paedophile hunters. Sheldrick had been communicating sexually with an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old girl between 24 and 30 September 2024. According to court proceedings at Norwich Crown Court, Sheldrick sent sexually suggestive messages, requested a 'body shot', and shared a link to pornography. The decoy explicitly stated her age as 14, but Sheldrick made no acknowledgement of this and continued the inappropriate interaction.

Prosecutor Samantha Lowther detailed how Sheldrick swapped images and encouraged the decoy to watch explicit material. It emerged during the hearing that Sheldrick had prior convictions for child sex offences in 2023, which resulted in a prohibition on unsupervised contact with girls under 16 and placement on the sex offenders register. Despite these restrictions, Sheldrick admitted to the confronting group that he was a former police officer, though Norfolk Police confirmed he had not served with their force.

Sheldrick appeared in court on Monday, admitting all charges. Judge David Pugh sentenced him to 12 months' imprisonment. Mitigating, Jonny Pilkington noted that Sheldrick was 'so sickened' by his actions that he had attempted to take his own life. In addition to the custodial sentence, Sheldrick will remain on the sex offenders register for 10 years and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same duration.

The case was reported by the Eastern Daily Press, highlighting the role of vigilante groups in exposing online predators. Norfolk Police were involved in the subsequent arrest and investigation.