A former school cleaner who was rumbled by a group of paedophile hunters, who came down from Essex to expose him, has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
James Grant, 45, of St Thomas’ Street in Ryde appeared at the Isle of Wight Crown Court for sentencing on Wednesday (13th September) having pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual communications with a child and causing a child aged 13 to 15 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity back in August.
Prosecuting, Lauren Stone told the court that in August 2022, using an online messaging application called RandoChat, Grant reached out to a young girl – which was in fact a fake account used by an online child abuse activist group called Act Now posing as a 14-year-old.
At some point after the initial contact was made, Grant and the person he was speaking to exchanged ages before sending pictures of one another’s faces. The picture sent by the decoy was in fact a heavily edited picture of an adult.
Over the next few months, daily conversations took place between the pair. Initially of a normal nature, the conversations quickly changed and Grant began talking about more sexual subjects with the ‘minor’. The chat moved to WhatsApp where Grant attempted to set up a video call with the girl. Grant was intending to show himself masturbating, something that he did live on a call not long after.
The video in question showed the 45-year-old lying on a bed masturbating. There was no video footage shared by the account posing as the young girl.
Sometime later, on 30th December 2022, those behind the decoy account travelled to the Island and approached Grant, meeting him in a car park on St Vincent’s Road in Binstead. The 45-year-old made a full confession on video to the group before he was handed over to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary. Police opened an investigation shortly after.
Across the 4 or so months that Grant and the decoy were talking, a total of 43 images of an explicit nature were sent by the 45-year-old. An extensive file of evidence was handed over to the Police.
Currently unemployed, Grant previously worked as a cleaner at a school, the court heard.
In sentencing Grant, His Honour Judge Richard Shepherd handed down an 18-month custodial sentence, suspended for 2 years. Grant was ordered onto the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
Grant was also ordered to attend 55 Rehabilitation Activity days and complete 200 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £418 costs.
Suspended sentence??!! Twisted little creep should have his bits sliced n diced. Worked in a school..yep..you bet he did..pond life!
a clueless w^nker then.
what part of – you will destroy your own life, if you perv underage schoolgirls, did this fool forget.
he can now enjoy the consequences of his stupidity – public humiliation, everyone that knows him, now knows what he has done, social isolation, no job, no money, no future, no prospects and the police knocking on his door every time a child gets assaulted.
probably be best if he removes himself from society, if the courts won’t lock him up.
Curious how you are more concerned at his stupidity at being caught than at what he did.
Idiot – it is his stupidity for doing it – jeez – there are some people who really need it spelling out
WTF suspended sentence??? What is going on? He admitted what he had done plus evidence on the video. Judge Richard shepherd you should be ashamed of yourself giving him a suspended sentence, He is a predator! ( Predator, of young children, ) Omg he should be in prison disgusting thing!!
I find the entire system very very disturbing & extremly questionable!!
This discusting creature is on a very long list of preditors that have been bang to rights yet no prison sentance gets handed to them.
I find it all very sinister indeed!!!
These judges need to explain themselves! & tell us their reasoning as to why they think our children are safe with these beasts out n about!
Why does it have to take another child/s life to be ruined before they find thrmselves up in court again!
This countries judiciary system has a lot to answer for!!!
This is an absolute joke should let an xl bully rip his todger off disgusting creature should of been an immediate prison sentence for nonces
Wow.. suspended sentence!! I’m not even shocked that yet another nonce goes free!! The world is f*cked up!! #protectourchildren
Whoopie bl00dy do! That’s really a deterant sentence. No wonder there so many of these nonces around when the judges are so soft on them. He started with talking & pictures then thinking meeting her. What on earth did that judge think he was there for, a quick cuppa. There was intent there & this won’t be the end. Unless locked up, they find other sneaky ways to entice these kids. Should be locked up & castrated. At the least!
The vile freak .. a waste of oxygen as well Thank those who caught this freak, and sorry the justice system has failed yet again .
He should get a suspended sentence !!!!!
One big rope around his neck and dropped from the gallows !!!!!!
Happy to oblige lowest of the low …
An entity that seriously needs to be disposed of …..
And people say ethnic cleansing is a bad thing? Gets rid of all the nonces lol
I like to think of it as “behavioral cleansing.” And these perverts who go after kids should be at the top of that cleaning list.
These are the people that should be going to prison. Sick twisted little man needs to be castrated. Preying on young innocent children. Yet again the peado protection unit (the courts) let the people most harmful to society still walk the streets.
Does he have a previous for this? The story does not say, if he’s a known perv then good catch. If not could this be entrapment???
Entrapment, the act of causing someone to do something they would not usually do by tricking them. He was, after all, tricked.
Are police are using vile crimes like this to normalise the use of entrapment? Instead of catching the real bad ones they make new ones that are easier to catch.
Entrapment is superb in this case.
You made a very good point there. If he had not admitted guilt would the CPS have charged him and attempted to prove in court that he had sent indecent images to a child that does not actually exist?
wrong fred – it is not entrapment – he firmly believed he was talking to a child, which is precisely what he sought out.
I’m suspicious of a judge that is so lenient….
I know this man i used to be cleaner in king collegae in 2018 he was my supervisor timid nice seemed man dont be fooled u never know who is who.. my bf even took him for lift and his brother in the end i didnt like him and so u know he has daughter
Judge needs locking up for a while to think about his judging ….
I find the entire system very very disturbing & extremly questionable!!
This discusting creature is on a very long list of preditors that have been bang to rights yet no prison sentance gets handed to them.
I find it all very sinister indeed!!!
These judges need to explain themselves! & tell us their reasoning as to why they think our children are safe with these beasts out n about!
Why does it have to take another child/s life to be ruined before they find thrmselves up in court again!
This countries judiciary system has a lot to answer for!!!
HOW did he ever get to work in a School for gods sake.
A suspended sentence.
i have said it before…the justice system is shot.
It needs a full over hall.
They waste so much time and money and are inconsistent.
What on earth has it come to.
He has most likely been doing things like this for years. Little rat. I hope he’s monitored long-term. Once the heat is off, he’ll be at it again.