Man jailed for using Snapchat to groom children

A Kent man who used a social media app to groom and abuse children has been jailed.

David Smith accessed software including Snapchat, WhatsApp and Kik to seek out and contact victims as young as 12.

Conversations started by the 68-year-old were of an explicit nature and included encouraging one child to send a photo of himself at school and making plans to meet and abuse him, Kent Police said.

At Maidstone Crown Court on Friday, Smith was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment.

He will have to serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before he can apply for parole and will be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order upon his release.

After his arrest in December 2023, an investigation showed that in the months prior, Smith had been using the internet to contact a boy who he believed was aged 12.

In February this year, officers then linked the investigation to a victim in Essex, who he also attempted to meet and abuse.

Smith, of Childscroft Road, Rainham, pleaded guilty to several online offences committed between August 2023 and January 2024.

These included engaging in sexual communication with a child, arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Det Con Barbara Zamorska said while the first child’s profile was part of a fictitious account, the victim in Essex was real and aged 14.

“Smith used various methods to groom this vulnerable child, including making claims he was suicidal because of ill-health, which made the victim feel he had to continue to engage with him,” she said.

“He also made several payments to the child, one of which was for £500 and was sent just days after his initial arrest.

“The graphic detail and demands Smith included in his messages was hugely concerning.”

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