Stewart Chalk

Stewart Chalk, a 45-year-old man from Chadwell Heath, has pleaded guilty to a child sex offence after engaging in inappropriate online communications with an individual he believed to be an underage girl.

The offence occurred between 1 November 2023 and 13 April 2024. Court documents presented at Barkingside Magistrates' Court detail that Chalk communicated sexually with a person he did not reasonably believe to be aged 16 or over. The exchanges included the sending of nude photographs and encouragement of sexual acts. Unbeknownst to Chalk, the account he was interacting with was a decoy operated by paedophile hunters, part of the Intervention Online Child Protection Team.

On 13 April 2024, Chalk was confronted at his home on Cecil Road by the paedophile hunters. Following this incident, he appeared in court on Tuesday, 6 January 2024, where he entered a guilty plea to one charge of engaging in sexual communication with a child. The court released him on conditional bail until his sentencing hearing scheduled for 5 February 2024 at the same magistrates' court.

As part of his bail conditions, Chalk is prohibited from being in the company of any child without appropriate adult supervision. The case was reported by the Romford Recorder, highlighting the role of online vigilance groups in identifying potential offenders. No further details on the sentencing outcome were available at the time of the report.