A North East paedophile who believed he was sending sexual messages to a 12-year-old girl caused his girlfriend to be arrested after pretending to be her in the chats.
James Morgan, 49, began chatting online to what he thought was a girl called Olivia. The conversation quickly turned explicit, with Morgan requesting pictures and suggesting they meet at an Airbnb. However, he was actually speaking to an undercover Durham Constabulary police officer.
Sinister aspect of offending
In what a judge described as a "sinister aspect" of the offending, Morgan also pretended to be his then-girlfriend in the chats. Due to his lie, his then-partner, who had no idea about the offending, was arrested before being later released.
On Friday, Morgan, who was living in Bishop Auckland at the time of the crime, appeared at Durham Crown Court to be sentenced for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child on February 6 2024. He had pleaded guilty to the offence.
Undercover operation
The court was told that Durham Constabulary created an online decoy of a 12-year-old girl called Olivia as part of Operation Meteor, which aimed to catch child sex offenders. The online decoy was then messaged by Morgan, who had a username including his and his then-partner's name.
Martin Towers, prosecuting, said: "Police received a direct message and there was a conversation between them. The conversation moved onto Whatsapp at an early stage."
The decoy was quick to tell Morgan they were only 12-years-old, and Morgan claimed to be a 33-year-old female. Mr Towers said: "Messages purporting to be from her asked about truth or dare..."
Morgan also requested explicit pictures and was sent "stock" images. Mr Towers said: "He said she was pretty and wanted to kiss and undress her."
Morgan also suggested renting an Airbnb to meet up before the conversation was "terminated". On February 12 2024, police went to his County Durham home, but Morgan was in London. Due to him using his then-partner's name in the chats, she was arrested at the time. She was later released without further action being taken.
Sentencing
Morgan, now of Osborne Road, Twickenham, London, later handed himself into police in London where he initially denied sending the messages and claimed someone else must have sent them as part of a "malicious attack". The court heard he had four previous convictions for dissimilar matters.
Christopher Wood, defending, said Morgan is self-employed. He told the court: "He is extremely remorseful over the distress caused to his then-partner. She has been impacted by what he did and the relationship came to an end. He is now living with friends."
Recorder Mark McKone KC said Morgan's offending had a "significant impact" on his then-partner's mental health and said using her name was a "sinister aspect". The judge sentenced him to 13 months prison, suspended for 18 months. He must also complete 25 rehabilitation days and 160 hours unpaid work.
He must also pay £1,600 costs and he will be on the sex offenders' register for 10 years. A 10 year sexual harm prevention order was also imposed.
