A NEWBURY man who called himself ‘Dishy Dave’ has been jailed for nearly three years after sending ‘explicit’ sexual messages to a police officer pretending to be a 12-year-old girl.
David Booth, of Riverdale Court, Newbury, told the decoy she was his ‘sexy little secret’ and tried to arrange meet-ups at hotels.
The 53-year-old sent the messages over Oasis and WhatsApp over a one-month period between September and October 2020 before he was arrested in January 2021.
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He started sending the messages after he went through a “tough time” having been made redundant.
But a judge today sentenced him to a 32-month prison sentence after telling him this did not explain why he chose to engage in sexual conversation with a 12-year-old.
Prosecuting, Edward Lucas said the police officer behind the decoy account of a 12-year-old girl made Booth aware of their supposed age.
Despite this, Booth, who gave himself the screen name of ‘Dishy Dave’ on an internet messaging forum, continued to message the girl and told her he would take her virginity away.
He made “several” references to meeting up in a hotel and referred to her as his ‘sexy little secret’, a court heard.
However, he eventually stopped messaging the girl after they had moved the conversation to WhatsApp.
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But police traced his online footprint back to him and Booth was arrested on January 19, 2021, where he made ‘full admissions’ about his actions.
Defending, Darren Almeida said Booth was “under no illusion” that these were “very serious matters” and that there are “real victims” for this sort of crime.
He revealed police found no indecent images on any of his devices, however, and that he stopped messaging the girl because he realised what he was doing was “wrong”.
Mr Almeida added: “This stemmed from a tough time in his life.
“He had been made redundant around the time of this offence.
“He didn’t have many people to turn to. The pandemic came and he retreated to his computer for affection.”
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He continued: “This is his first slip-up and it will be his only slip-up.
“This is a man who can benefit society by developing his social side and his attitude towards intimate relationships.”
Her honour judge Real disagreed, however, sentencing Booth to up to 32 months behind bars.
She said: “I accept you are remorseful.
“You were having a difficult time at this time but that does not explain why you chose to engage with someone who was 12-years-old.”
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Booth was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Wednesday, September 22 after he admitted to one count of attempted sexual communication with a child and three counts of attempting to incite a child into sexual activity.
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