Blackburn man who sexually assaulted young girl, 12, multiple times snared by online paedophile hunters
A ‘dangerous’ man from Blackburn who sexually assaulted a young girl, 12, multiple times was snared by online paedophile hunters.
An Online Child Abuse Activist Group (OCAAG) raised concerns regarding Christopher Smith to police on June 24, 2022.
They said he had been messaging and sending sexually explicit images and videos to a girl he thought was 14 on social media.
He had also made other concerning comments to the ‘child’.
Smith was arrested later the same day at his home in Douglas Place, and it later transpired he had been talking to two other profiles run by the OCAAG.
Further enquiries found that Smith had previously sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl on a number of occasions some years earlier.
In May 2023, Smith sent a friend request to a woman on Snapchat before sending unwanted “sexualised content” along with multiple videos.
Smith, now of no fixed address but formerly from Blackburn, was charged with attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, sexual assault, attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to watch/ look at an image of sexual activity, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and sending communication/ article of an indecent/ offensive nature.
The 47-year-old pleaded guilty to all the offences and was jailed for six years with an extended licence period of four years at Preston Crown Court last Friday.
Smith was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Det Chief Leanne Douglas said: “I would like to first and foremost commend the victim in this case for having the courage to come forward and report what happened to her all those years ago and for the strength to see these proceedings through to this point – I hope that she feels some sense of justice has been done.
“Smith is a dangerous individual who presents a danger to young girls because of his perverted sexual interests. Offending of this nature has no place in society and we will do everything in our powers to put the perpetrators of it in prison.
“I would also like to thank the OCAAG for reporting this to the police promptly before taking matters into their own hands and allowing no evidential opportunities to be lost.”
If you or somebody you know has been the victim of a sexual offence, report it online via https://doitonline.lancashire.police.uk/ or call 101.
Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.