Derbyshire man who got 'kick' out of grooming young girls online jailed
A man from Derbyshire has been jailed after grooming young girls online.
A Derbyshire man - who "got a kick" out of targeting young girls online and grooming them - has been jailed.
Richard Parker, 41, of Caversham Way in West Hallam, sent messages to three young girls on Snapchat, including sexually explicit images, and encouraged them to share similar pictures.
He targeted them between 2020 and 2022.
Officers found numerous graphic messages to one of the girls, where Jackson implied he knew she was only 14 and stated he was "willing to wait."
Detective Constable Heather Rogers who led the investigation said: “Jackson got a kick out of coercing young girls into sexual activity and exploited them for his own gratification.
“It is clear he knew the age of the girls he was speaking to and targeted them because of this.
“This has been a long running and complex case, that required painstaking digital forensic work to examine the devices used and to collate all the messages that Jackson had sent and received during his interactions with the victims.
“However, it is pleasing to see that this work has resulted in justice being done, with Jackson being put behind bars.
“I’d like to thank the victims in this case for the courage they have shown over the last five years, and hope that this sentencing allows them some closure so that they can move forward with their lives.”
The investigation was launched after the parents of one of the girls found the messages from Jackson on her device and reported it to the police.
He was charged with 18 offences, including sexual communication with a child, causing a child to look at images of sexual activity, and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
He admitted to the charges and sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.