Grndr-addicted businessman who arranged to meet young boy at Leeds hotel jailed in police sting
A businessman who arranged to meet a teenage boy at a hotel in Leeds was found to be talking to an undercover police officer.
Damien Payne made contact with the profile on the gay dating app, Grndr, but it was accepted by the Crown prosecution Service that he “may not” have engaged in sexual relations with the supposed boy.
The 40-year-old was handed a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court after admitting attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and attempting to meet a boy under 16 after grooming.
Payne started the conversation with the fake profile in March last year, asking what he was looking for. Payne told him he was into role play, spanking and humiliation.
The covert officer made it clear he was just 14, and Payne said he was “too young for him”, despite describing him as “adorable”, prosecutor Emily Jenkins told the court.
Payne later said he was staying at the Radisson Blu hotel in Leeds city centre and arranged to meet the boy in the lobby, although remained sceptical about it being the “wrong thing to do”.
He was later arrested in the hotel lobby. His hotel room was searched and condoms and cable ties were found. Again it was accepted by the Crown they were not necessarily linked for his meeting with the supposed boy.
Payne, of Fir Tree Avenue, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, has no previous convictions.
Mitigating Michael Phillips said of Payne’s offences: “They are an absolute disgrace, he would be the first to admit that.”
He said Payne had a difficult upbringing and was badly bullied at school, but managed to win a place at Oxford University. However, he said he continued to “struggle to come to terms with his identity and sexuality”.
He said that Payne had become addicted to Grndr but had never “sought to approach underage children”. He pointed out that the profile was on an adult platform.
Mr Phillips added: “He hopes and believes nothing would have happened if it turned out to be a child.”
Judge Simon Phillips KC told Payne: “It’s clear from the text that you were well aware of the potential consequences.”
He jailed him for 12 months, put him on the sex offender register for 10 years and was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).