Sex offender jailed
A 37-year-old man who sent sexually explicit pictures to a 13-year-old while posing as a teenager has been jailed for two years and eight months.
Karl Abbott, of Blades Drive, Saxilby, posed as a 15-year-old boy to build a relationship with his victim before sending indecent images and requesting pictures of the same nature in return.
He was subsequently arrested by Lincolnshire Police and digital devices were seized from his home back in October 2022.
Abbott wouldn’t cooperate, refusing to surrender the information required to allow investigators to access his machines.
During the course of the investigation Abbot, who ran photography firm PRINTSMAZING, also changed his name to James Smith.
The force’s Digital Forensics Unit spent 12 months exploring ways to break into the devices before they succeeded – discovering a stash of illegal images.
Abbott pleaded guilty to five charges at court, including the possession of indecent images of categories A, B and C, sexual communication with a child and inciting a child into pornography.
He was jailed when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court yesterday when he was also placed on the sexual offenders’ register and served a sexual harm prevention order.
The result brings a lengthy investigation to a close, which saw officers and staff from Lincolnshire Police work together to bring Abbot to justice.
Detective Constable Warwick Taylor paid tribute to those who helped bring the case to fruition and hopes the result will bring some sense of closure to his victim.
“Children are often the most vulnerable people in our society and Abbott chose to abuse the trust placed in him by a young child,” DC Taylor said.
“His actions have no place in our county or our society at large and we hope this sends a strong warning to any would-be offenders – this behaviour will not be tolerated.
“I hope this result goes some way to bringing the case to a close in the mind of the victim though it may take longer yet before they can truly move on.
“And finally, I’d like to thank everyone worked on this investigation. Without their teamwork we wouldn’t be here today.”
If you’ve been the victim of rape or sexual assault report it to police as soon as possible.
Even if you’re not 100 per cent sure the police want to hear from you so they can make sure you’re safe, but of you would rather not talk to officers there are other organisations that can help. Follow the link below.
Support for victims of rape and sexual assault | Lincolnshire Police (lincs.police.uk)
