A married grandfather from Northumberland has been spared prison after being caught in a police trap trying to communicate sexually with a child.
An undercover officer, referred to in court as Z, had created a profile on FabGuys which suggested he was in his 20s. James Gillesphey contacted the profile in August last year and they ended up communicating on Snapchat.
Undercover officer revealed true age
Z then told Gillesphey he was younger than his profile suggested and said he was 14 and would understand if he no longer wanted to chat with him. However Gillesphey, 65, of Blyth, said he did and the conversation continued.
Z sent a picture purporting to show himself as a 14-year-old boy and Gillesphey sent an image of himself. He then asked if Z's parents monitored his phone and was told he was careful.
Sexual discussions and images exchanged
They went on to discuss their sexual experiences and further pictures were sent. Gillesphey said he would like Z "as a mate and more" and went on to discuss sexual activity.
On another occasion, Z said he would be visiting his father and would have to be careful, and topless images were exchanged between them. Z asked if the things they discussed would happen in real life and Gillesphey said he was unsure about meeting. He then asked for a naked image and was sent an indecent image.
There was then discussion about meeting and Gillesphey said his wife was due to be away. However he then cancelled the proposed meet up.
Sentence and background
Gillesphey, who has one previous conviction for drink driving from last year, pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempted sexual communication with a child. He was sentenced to 22 months suspended for two years and must sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.
Recorder Jonathan Sandiford KC said: "You have a sexual interest in young people, despite your denials, and that came out when you had too much to drink."
Nicoletta Alistari, defending, said Gillesphey had significant alcohol and mental health issues and felt shame about his behaviour. She added that he had a difficult childhood and his brother's death had triggered his mental health spiralling.
Miss Alistari said: "This was a temporary aberration at a point where his mental health was at breakdown point. It was a first but he stopped himself going any further."
The court heard he has suffered two aneurysms as a result of the stress of the case and has mobility issues.
