Grimsby child groomer found guilty of dozens of sexual offences
Christian Sollitt was found guilty of six counts of sexual activity with a child
Police say a "social media predator" who sent thousands of emails, voice calls and video calls to a young girl before travelling to Grimsby to engage in sexual intercourse with her has been found guilty.
Following a 12-day trial, Christian Sollitt was found guilty of 13 sexual offences against a child.
The 46-year-old was found guilty of six counts of sexual activity with a child, three counts of making indecent photographs of children, sexual communications with a child, meeting a child following sexual grooming, possession of extreme pornographic images and possession of a prohibited image of a child.
He will be sentenced in December.
"perverted sexual gain"
Detective Sergeant Sacha Harvey, leading the investigation, said: “Sollitt was brought to officer’s attention following a third-party report in July 2018 of a young girl being approached by him, communicating and meeting for sexual intercourse frequently with him.
“An investigation was opened, and a child abduction notice was issued to Sollitt in July 2018, however he continued to communicate with the child all for his own perverted sexual gain.
“Officers subsequently conducted a search of Sollitt’s address where they seized his tablet and other digital equipment was for examination by our Digital Forensics Unit.
“On full analysis of his devices, the extent of Sollitt’s grooming for his own sexual gratification was highlighted.
“Thousands of emails, voice calls and video calls with a child were discovered, along with extreme pornographic images and videos of multiple children as young as under three years old being found on his devices.
“The young girl in this case was manipulated by Sollitt into sending explicit images and he arranged to pick her up from school and take her to secluded locations in Grimsby to engage in sexual activity.
“Sollitt denied knowing the age of the victim and after accepting he finally knew her age, continued to try and contact her to declare his love and feelings to her.
"break free"
"The child, who is now an adult, has waited patiently for this to be heard at court in order to protect others from him.
"I would like to commend her bravery throughout the lengthy and complex full judicial process, and she reflected on the sentencing saying it has helped her 'break free' from the hold that this case has had on her everyday life.
“I hope this verdict sends a clear message to anyone committing these types of offences, it is never acceptable to prey on anyone, let alone the most vulnerable young children within our communities, and we will always do everything we can to bring offenders to justice for their crimes.
“We would encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim of, or has witnessed sexual crimes, in any form, to please contact us".