Milton Keynes child sex offender jailed after being caught in 'sting' operation

A Milton Keynes man has been jailed for bombarding what he thought were children with sexually explicit videos of himself.

Michael Denman, 34, of Watling Street in Little Brickhill, sent a friend request and a video of himself engaged in a sex act to an account on Snapchat on 8 February.

The two began a conversation, with the victim stating she was 14 and Denman claiming he was an 18-year-old man called Sam.

Denman, a registered sex offender previously from Cambridge, was not deterred by the victim’s age and sent her 14 videos in two days. Of these, 13 were of him engaged in sex acts.

He repeatedly asked the victim, who was actually an adult, sexualised questions, requested sexually explicit content from her and asked for a photo of her wearing her school uniform.

His Little Brickhill address, to where he’d moved from Cambridge last year, was identified following investigations into the IP address linked to Denman’s account. He was arrested on 26 April and his mobile phone seized.

When officers searched the property, it was clear Denman was living there. They were able to match the backdrops in some of the videos with the interior of the home, as well as discovering a bedspread pictured in some of the content.

While the casefile was being assessed by the Crown Prosecution Service, officers from Cambridgeshire Constabulary received information about a similar investigation being conducted by another force.

今年2月,Denman Snapchat acc使用了相同的ount to contact two other adults, one posing as a 12-year-old boy and the other a girl of the same age.

Although they were clear about their age, he sent them multiple videos of himself engaged in sex acts. He also asked the 12-year-old girl sexually explicit questions and discussed travelling to meet her for sex.

Denman admitted inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, three counts of causing a girl under 13 to look at sexual imagery, three of sexual communication with a child and breaching requirements under the Sex Offenders Register.

On Friday (20 October), at Peterborough Crown Court, he was jailed for five years and given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Cambridge police Detective Constable Andrew McKeane said: “Denman genuinely believed these three accounts were being used by children.

“Once knowing they were children Denman was not perturbed and continued to prey on them and bombarded them with sexually explicit content.

“He is clearly a danger to children, and I’m pleased he has been brought to justice for his actions.

“I would urge parents to take an interest in their children’s online interactions and speak openly and honestly with them about any concerns they or the child may have. The NSPCC provide a wealth of knowledge to enable parents to protect their children from such predators.”

The NSPCC resources can be accessed in the ‘keeping children safe online’ section of their website.

Anyone who is concerned someone may have been convicted of a sex offence, and could be posing a risk to someone, can apply for disclosure information through Sarah's Law.