'Disgusting' Leeds paedophile caught grooming '12-year-old girl' online - but avoids custody again

Jordan Hall was given a community order in 2015 after being caught with indecent images of children, but in April of last year he made contact with a profile of a young girl over social media.

The profile was in fact a decoy, set up with the intention of catching predators trawling the internet looking for children, prosecutor Zarreen Alam-Cheetham told Leeds Crown Court. Over a two-week period, Hall and the profile communicated on KIK, Snapchat and Chatiw, despite him being made aware of her supposed age.

The 30-year-old asked her for photos of her legs and body and asked if she masturbated. He told her he was single and if she would be his girlfriend. He also said he wanted to meet up with her.

Hall, of Biddenden Road, Manston, Leeds, was later interviewed by police and told them he had no intention of meeting the girl, that it was all “just fantasy”. He admitted being attracted to children and knew what he was doing was wrong.

He admitted a charge of attempting to cause or incite a female child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Mitigating, Adrian Pollard said: “He accepts without question that his conduct throughout that conversation with the decoy is thoroughly disgusting. His behaviour is absolutely disgraceful. He does not ask me to justify anything because it can’t be justified.

“From his perspective, he appears to understand the impact of his behaviour. Clearly this was a decoy but that does not really matter because he did not know it was a decoy.”

Mr Pollard said Hall’s partner was standing by him, and that they now had a baby. He said Hall was terrified of prison.

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Judge Simon Phillips KC told Hall: “It’s concerning offending of an extreme kind, doubly so because in the past you have been convicted of making indecent images of children. The reality of the situation is that your deep-rooted offending behaviour has not been addressed to date.”

However, he said Hall had not sought to justify his actions and there was a a chance of rehabilitation, noting that Hall was “receptive to working with probation”.

He gave him two years’ jail, suspended for two years - the maximum sentence possible that could be suspended. He also gave him 55 rehabilitation, ordered to enrol on an accredited sex-offender programme and complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

He was also put on the sex offender register for 10 years, and given a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for 10 years, which will curb his internet use.