A 74-year-old man who carried Viagra and groomed someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl before travelling to meet her has been jailed.
Stephen Greaves spent weeks sending sexually explicit messages in anticipation of the planned meeting. The 74-year-old even sent a photograph of his private parts over WhatsApp before arriving at Sheffield railway station.
But instead of meeting the teenager, Greaves was confronted by a group of paedophile hunters, as reported by NeedToKnow. The group informed the British Transport Police, who arrested him at the station. Officers found a blister pack of Viagra on his person.
Investigation uncovers hundreds of messages
A forensic examination of Greaves' phone revealed hundreds of messages between him and the individual he believed was a teenage girl. Detectives also discovered conversations with other girls he assumed were underage. Child sexual abuse material had also been stored on the device, including two videos in the most severe category.
The Crown Prosecution Service authorised eight charges following the British Transport Police investigation. Greaves, of Park Grange Croft, Sheffield, admitted five offences.
Sentencing at Sheffield Crown Court
These included attempting to meet a child under 16 following grooming and attempting to cause or incite a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity. He also pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and two counts of making indecent images of children. Greaves denied three other similar charges, which will remain on file.
He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison at Sheffield Crown Court on July 31. Greaves was also given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life.
The attempted meeting occurred on July 26, 2021. Detective Constable Lee Walker, of British Transport Police, stated: "Stephen Greaves poses a serious danger to children and has demonstrated a clear sexual interest in them.
"He spent weeks grooming who he believed was a teenage girl, sending vile and explicit messages before travelling to the station with Viagra for what he thought would be a sexual encounter."
"Our investigation uncovered the full extent of his offending. Through the forensic examination of thousands of gigabytes of data from his phone, we unearthed abhorrent child sexual abuse material. Thankfully Greaves is now behind bars and no longer able to prey on children."
