Darren Collis, 57, of Rockall Close in Haverhill, West Suffolk, has been jailed for 11 years after pleading guilty to 30 child sex offences against 15 separate victims. His crimes include sexual communication with a child, causing a child to watch a sexual act, grooming, arranging to meet a child, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, and making and distributing indecent images of children.
Sting operation and arrest
Peterborough Crown Court heard how Collis began messaging a boy he believed to be 14 on Snapchat in May 2025. However, it was a police operation, and Collis, despite being informed of the boy's reported age, continued the conversation, sent explicit images and attempted to arrange a meeting. He also admitted to communicating with another teenage boy, aged 13, before his arrest.
Suffolk Police officers lured Collis into believing he was meeting the teenager at Cardinal Park, in Ipswich, on May 28, 2025, before detaining him. Detectives subsequently raided his home and seized multiple devices, uncovering further sexual conversations with children under 16, with officers eventually identifying 15 victims, who have since been offered specialist support.
Sentencing and police response
Collis was handed an 11-year custodial sentence and a further six years on licence on Friday, October 23. Police branded him a "serious, online predator".
Detective Sergeant Mark Cotton from the Suffolk Internet Child Abuse Investigation Team said: "Darren Collis is a serious, online predator who groomed his victims in order to meet up with children and commit serious sexual offences. His conviction has come as a result of partnership working with the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), which works proactively to identify and track online sexual predators."
He added: "I would like to thank them and everyone who has worked on this investigation, especially DC Rachael Adams and PSI Josie Phillips, whose hard work included identifying and locating victims from across the country. It is a combination of everyone's efforts that has ensured a dangerous predator is now behind bars. No family should have to go through what Collis has subjected his survivors to, and I would like to commend the victims and their families for their help and courage in bringing this sexual predator to justice. We are committed to bringing to justice those who engage in these crimes."
