Daniel Godkin: fleeing sex offender spared jail after sparking major search by jumping into River Ribble in Preston

Daniel Godkin's escape from two pursuing officers sparked a huge search and rescue operation involving a fire brigade boat crew, police dogs and a police helicopter, lasting up to eight hours.

The 32-year-old was eventually found after swimming to the opposite bank and hiding in a wheelie bin, Preston Crown Court was told. He was taken to hospital suffering from suspected hypothermia.

Godkin appeared before Judge Richard Gioserano for sentence after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to causing a child under the age of 13 to watch sexual activity on social media and also escaping lawful custody.

The judge gave him an 21-month prison sentence suspended for two years and ordered him to do 180 hours unpaid work. He also ruled two mobile phones and a tablet belonging to him should be confiscated.

The court heard that Godkin had been arrested on suspicion of sexual offences when he broke free from officers near to London Road at around 8am on Friday January 13 this year.

"Without hesitation he dived in (to the river)," said Mercedeh Jabbari, prosecuting. "He was seen swimming to the opposite bank, but they (police) couldn't see if he had managed to pull himself out."

As a result a specialist fire brigade water search unit was called in along with police dogs and a helicopter. But no trace was found. Hours later Godkin was seen walking along The Boulevard. "He had been hiding in a nearby waste bin," added Ms Jabbari. "He was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital and treated for potential hypothermia and arrested."

The court was told that his initial arrest had come about as a result of an undercover police investigation by a regional crime unit in the West Midlands looking into online offences. Godkin had made contact on a chat site called Kik with what he thought was a 12-year-old girl called Veronica from Birmingham. In fact it was a police officer posing as a child.

When she asked for his age and location Godkin told her he was a 19-year-old man from England. He sent her photos which became progressively more obscene and involved him performing a sex act.

Ms Jabbari told the court Godkin had several previous criminal offences including assault. But in 2018 he had been convicted of sending offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing messages to an holistic therapist he had approached asking how much a massage was.

Defending barrister Brendan O'Leary urged Judge Gioserano to be lenient and pass a suspended sentence instead of an immediate custodial term saying mental health issues could have been responsible for Godkin's behaviour.

"He is 32 and the reality is that at the time he committed these offences he was living an isolated existence," he said. "He was just existing. He had no social interactions in the real world and he sought refuge in an online world where social norms are sadly lacking and it led him to commit the offences that he is being sentenced for today.

"When he reached his late twenties he began to spiral more inwardly into a life of solitude. He began to drink excessively and withdraw into a world of solitude.

"He thought he was communicating with a 12-year-old girl and he accepts he got sexual gratification by sending the images. It has echoes of his earlier offence, although that was to an adult. He was in the midst of a mental health crisis at the time he committed the offences."

Mr O'Leary said that since being remanded in prison in January the regime there had had a stabilising effect on him. "He feels that perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel."

Godkin's dramatic escape from police had been, said Mr O'Leary, a spontaneous act and he had been at large for only a matter of hours.

Judge Gioserano told Godkin: "You believed this to be a 12-year-old girl and you were engaging in sexual communication with her. You clearly have a sexual interest in young children and you need to face it. That needs addressing.

"No doubt you were leading a very lonely, solitary and very unhappy existence. But that's not really my concern. My concern is the protection of children."

He sentence Godkin to 18 months for the sex offence and an extra three months for escaping from custody, an act which he said was "in the heat of the moment and in a panic you bolted." In addition to the unpaid work. Godkin will also have to complete a rehabilitation programme delivered by a specialist sexual offenders team.