Child sex offender found guilty of perverting the course of justice
Simon Martin Tilley has been convicted of four offences
A 45 year-old man has been found guilty of child sex offences, as well as perverting the course of justice.
Simon Martin Tilley was convicted of four offences, after a trial which finished at Stafford Crown Court today (June 4).
The court heard how Tilley, of Kingsthorpe Hollow, was found to have engaged in online sexual communication with a boy he believed to be 13 years-old in June 2021.
Over the course of their chats, Tilley sent photos of himself naked and messages such as “you look cute” and “guess you’re at school”.
What he didn’t know, however, was that the person he was communicating with was actually an undercover police officer.
Tilley was arrested at his home address in November 2021 and was subsequently charged with one count of attempting to cause a child aged 13-15 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity and one count of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
It was this that then triggered him into launching a relentless campaign of stalking and harassment against one serving and one former Northamptonshire Police officer, including the detective assigned to investigate the child sex offence case.
During this time, Tilley published false and malicious material online using his X (formerly Twitter) account as well as a WordPress website with the intent to cause damage to their careers and pervert the course of justice by attempting to discredit the investigation into his online behaviour.
He was further charged with three counts of stalking with intent to cause serious distress under Section 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in 2024, and three counts of perverting the course of justice.
At trial, the indictment was changed to one count of perverting the course of justice and two counts of stalking.
An earlier charge of possessing extreme pornographic image/images portraying an act of intercourse/oral sex with a dead/alive animal was also dropped.
During the trial, the court heard how Tilley’s behaviour had affected the officers involved with one describing his behaviour as “horrendous” and the other citing Tilley as a major reason for leaving the police service.
Today at Stafford Crown Court, Tilley was found guilty of the two child sex offences, perverting the course of justice and one of the stalking allegations. The jury found him not guilty on the second count of stalking.
Detective Chief Inspector Nick Cobley said: “This has been a particularly complex and challenging case to progress and one which has had a significant impact, not only on officers and staff working across our organisation, but also on their families.
“After having been identified, investigated and charged for offences relating to sexual communication with a child, Tilley carried out repeated acts to try and undermine the credibility of the officer connected to the prosecution. His behaviour was persistent and a deliberate attempt to discredit the investigation, cause distraction and create additional work.
“Whilst the police are expected to have a slightly higher level of resilience due to the nature of the work they undertake, they are not immune to personal attacks on them or their personal life. They should be able to come to work and not be fearful for their own safety or the safety of their families.
“I would like to thank the investigation team for showing professionalism and resilience in very challenging circumstances and adversity. They have remained focused and ensured the prosecution against Tilley continued to progress.
“Tilley’s campaign thankfully has not succeeded. He is a child sex offender and has now been recognised officially by the courts as one.”
Tilley will be sentenced at Stafford Crown Court on September 18.