Salvatore Zizzari

A paedophile from Peterborough has been sentenced to 10 years in prison following an undercover operation by Nottinghamshire Police that exposed his plans to sexually abuse young children.

Salvatore Zizzari, aged 33 and residing in Langley, Peterborough, engaged in a series of disturbing online conversations where he discussed and plotted the sexual abuse of children. Believing he was communicating with a like-minded adult who could facilitate his depraved fantasies, Zizzari shared explicit intentions to abuse young children. Unbeknownst to him, the individual he was chatting with was an undercover police operative from Nottinghamshire Police's Internet Child Exploitation team.

The operation culminated on 30 October 2024, when Zizzari travelled to a pub in West Bridgford, Nottingham, to meet the supposed accomplice. An undercover officer recorded Zizzari confirming his intentions to travel to a location and abuse the officer's children. He was arrested shortly after being detained at the location.

Zizzari was charged with three counts of arranging the commission of a child sex offence and four counts of making indecent photographs of children. Despite denying the charges, he stood trial at Nottingham Crown Court in April 2025, where a jury unanimously found him guilty on all counts.

On 28 August 2025, Zizzari returned to Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing. He received a 10-year custodial sentence. Detective Constable Rich Cashmore, from the Internet Child Exploitation team, commented: “Zizzari’s plans to sexually abuse young children were both disturbing and disgusting in equal measure. He shared his depraved fantasies online with someone he believed could make them a reality and was a likeminded individual. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case and the person he was chatting to was actually an undercover police operative.” Cashmore further noted that the operation gathered crucial evidence, leading to Zizzari's conviction and safeguarding countless children.

The case was handled by Nottinghamshire Police, highlighting their commitment to tackling online child exploitation through proactive undercover operations.