Groomer travels 200 miles to meet child
Real Radio has been given special access to one of Britain’s largest anti-paedophile units as part of our exclusive Websafe internet safety campaign.
Our reporters have been out on operations with Greater Manchester Police’s sexual crime unit, arresting men who prey on young girls and boys on the internet.
During one, we witnessed the arrest of a suspected groomer who’d travelled 200 miles from the North East to Manchester to meet a 14-year-old girl. When he arrived at the agreed meeting point, police were waiting for him.
Detective Sergeant Robert Willis said: “He walked into the fast food restaurant, wandered around and then went into the bathroom.
“While he was in there, you could see he was absolutely terrified. His hands were actually shaking. For whatever reason, he was nervous. Whether it was the excitement of meeting the individual or that he realised he was doing something that is so potentially life-changing we won’t really know.
“That continued to his arrest, where you could see he was absolutely in shock. He was looking around himself but that’s obviously the mark of a man who’s actually concerned. He’s doing something which is very dangerous. He’s obviously excited because he thinks he’s going to meet a child.”
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Greater Manchester Police use staff to sit in internet chat rooms to identify older users who have an unhealthy interest in children.
They then adopt the persona of a child and – without leading the offender – they wait until the person on the other side of the screen suggests a meeting.
DS Willis says the man we saw arrested may have had suspicions as he arrived at the retail park in Greater Manchester.
He said: “In the back of his mind, he must be thinking is this a police sting? But it isn’t. He has come to meet a child for sexual purposes. He has actually walked into a police operation for which we are perfectly legislated.”
The arrest itself is deliberately not dramatic. Officers – in many cases – simply approach the offender and calmly put them in the back of a car and take them away for questioning.
The force says – on average – it is now carrying out one such arrest a week.
