Colchester man jailed for attempting to arrange child sex offences
The 55-year-old will spend three years behind bars.
A 55-year-old man has been jailed for three years after being convicted of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and trying to arrange a child sex offence.
Neil Wilkin, from Rose Allen Avenue in Colchester, was sentenced on Friday 28th November at Ipswich Crown Court following a joint investigation by Essex Police and the East Midlands Special Operations Unit.
The court heard how Wilkin, in 2022, had used an online chat room to discuss and plan offences with someone he thought was the mother of a teenage girl. The other user was actually a police officer working undercover.
In November 2022, Wilkin was arrested at his home in Colchester. Electronic devices found around him were seized, and forensic examination revealed conversation threads with the officer, despite evidence that Wilkin had attempted to delete them.
During interviews, Wilkin denied the allegations, insisting in a prepared statement that his online communications were mere "fantasy."
After a three-day trial in October, the jury determined he was guilty on both counts. Judge Kelly, who sentenced him, called his defence a "pack of lies."
As well as the three-year prison sentence, Wilkin has been placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely. A 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also issued.
Detective Sergeant Nicola Hadfield of Essex Police, who led the investigation, stated:
“Wilkin is a sexual predator who preyed on the vulnerability of someone who he believed was only 13 years old.
His deviant behaviour was stopped by collaborative working by police here in Essex and in the Midlands.
We will be managing him as a sexual offender upon his release, and he will be closely monitored.
Safeguarding children and keeping them safe is our priority and we will relentlessly pursue offenders and bring them before the courts.”