Darren Collis, 57, has been jailed for 11 years after pleading guilty to 30 child sex offences against 15 separate victims. The offences 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.
Police decoy operation
Peterborough Crown Court heard that Collis, of Rockall Close in Haverhill, West Suffolk, began communicating with a boy he believed to be 14 on Snapchat in May 2025. The account was actually a police decoy. Despite being told the boy's reported age, Collis continued the conversation, sent explicit images, and attempted to arrange a meeting.
He also mentioned speaking with another teenage boy, aged 13, before his arrest. Suffolk Police officers arranged for Collis to believe he was meeting the teenager at Cardinal Park in Ipswich on May 28, 2025, where he was detained.
Investigation and victims
Detectives then raided his home and seized multiple devices, revealing further sexual conversations with children under 16. Police eventually identified 15 victims, who have since been offered specialist support.
Collis was sentenced to 11 years in prison and a further six years on licence on October 23. Police described him as a "serious, online predator".
Police statement
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."
Cotton also commended the victims and their families for their help and courage in bringing Collis to justice, stating: "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."
