A former Christian missionary from Burnopfield, County Durham, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for grooming a young boy and engaging in sexual communication with a child. Martyn William Fryatt, aged 71, manipulated the victim over the course of a year, sending him sexually explicit messages along with images and videos of naked men and young boys. The case came to light when the boy's mother discovered the inappropriate content on her son's phone and alerted the police.
Durham Crown Court heard that Fryatt, of previous good character and a retired senior mental health nurse in the NHS, repeatedly instructed the boy to delete the photos to prevent his parents from finding them. Following his arrest in June 2023, specialist officers analysed Fryatt's phone, uncovering numerous sexually inappropriate WhatsApp messages, as well as the indecent images and videos. He was charged with three counts of making indecent images of a child, one count of possessing prohibited images of a child, and one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child. Fryatt admitted all charges at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court on 23 July 2023, and the case was committed to Durham Crown Court for sentencing.
During the sentencing hearing, Fryatt's counsel, Vic Laffey, acknowledged the 'immense problems' caused by his client's actions, noting that Fryatt had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and had undergone 29 counselling sessions immediately after his arrest. Laffey emphasised that Fryatt, who had never previously troubled the courts, accepted the seriousness of the offences and was willing to work with the Probation Service to address his issues. However, Judge Jo Kidd rejected any mitigation, stating that Fryatt had set out to groom and manipulate the child, fully aware of his age, for his own sexual gratification.
Judge Kidd highlighted Fryatt's professional background working with vulnerable children, remarking that it 'did not deter' him from targeting the victim. She described his behaviour as 'thoroughly wicked' and an attempt to minimise the offences. Despite the counselling efforts, the judge deemed the offences too serious for anything other than an immediate custodial sentence. Fryatt received a 14-month prison term, which would have been 21 months had he been convicted after trial. Additionally, he was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and required to register as a sex offender, both for ten years.
Detective Constable Graeme Whitfield of Durham Constabulary, who led the investigation, described Fryatt's actions as showing 'disturbing levels of predatory behaviour'. He praised the courage of the boy's mother in reporting the matter and noted the child's strength during the investigation, underscoring that the sentence and orders would prevent Fryatt from accessing children in the future. The case was reported by The Northern Echo on 14 November 2023.