Sex offender jailed for grooming children on Snapchat
The 39-year-old paid teenagers for indecent images and videos
A Southampton man who groomed children online and paid them for indecent images has been jailed for six years and eight months.
Ian Della-Rocca, aged 39, was arrested in November 2024 after communicating sexually on Snapchat with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl.
The individual was actually a police officer posing online.
Investigations revealed Della-Rocca had been messaging real children from January 2023 until the time of his arrest, engaging in sexual conversations.
Police identified three teenage girls across the UK who had been paid for indecent photos and videos by Della-Rocca.
Almost 1,200 indecent images of children were discovered on his mobile phone.
On one occasion, Della-Rocca, who was living in North Baddesley during the offences, met a 15-year-old girl and drove her to school.
Sentencing
Della-Rocca, of Wilson Road in Chessington, admitted multiple offences at Southampton Crown Court:
Three counts of possession of indecent images of children
Attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child
Adult attempt to cause a child to watch or look at an image of sexual activity
Possessing a prohibited image of a child
Distributing indecent images of a child
Three counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child
Three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity
Three counts of paying for the sexual services of a child aged 13 to 15
Causing or inciting a child to look at an image of sexual activity
Attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming
On 9th January 2026, Della-Rocca was sentenced to six years and eight months behind bars.
He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and given a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Police statement
PC Ollie Green from the Internet Child Abuse Team said Della-Rocca’s offending was persistent and deeply concerning:
“The relentlessness of Della-Rocca’s offending is really shocking. He persistently targeted young girls online, going as far as to pay them to provide him with indecent images.
“Della-Rocca groomed and exploited these children for his own perverse gratification, and it is clear he poses a serious risk to children.
“The girls have been incredibly brave in speaking to police about Della-Rocca’s behaviour, and it is because of them that we were able to secure so many criminal charges against him.
“I also want to extend my thanks to policing colleagues across the UK for their efforts in helping bring this man to justice.”