An Ipswich man who was caught in a paedophile hunter sting after he sent a naked picture of himself to someone he believed to be a 12-year-old girl barricaded himself in his bathroom when police went to arrest him, a court has heard.
Neil Baker contacted an online profile of a girl called ‘Rosie’ which had been set up by a paedophile hunter group called “Secretly Tackling Online Predators” ( STOP) in December last year, Ipswich Crown Court heard.
During conversations with Baker “Rosie” said she was 12 but despite this, he had discussed matters of a sexual nature with her, said Simon Connolly, prosecuting.
He had also sent her a naked picture of himself and had asked her to send him a picture.
The conversations took place over ten days and ended when members of STOP went to Baker’s home and called the police after he gave “Rosie” his address on Facebook messenger.
The court heard that when police officers arrived Baker had barricaded himself in his bathroom.
Baker, 42, of Broomhill Road, Ipswich, admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempted sexual communication with a child in December last year, breach of a sexual harm prevention order and breach of the notification requirements of the sex offenders’ register.
He also admitted being in breach of a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years which was imposed in July 2020 after he admitted attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and attempted sexual communication with a child dating back to August 19.
On that occasion, the court heard that Baker had started a conversation with a police decoy on the Kik Messenger app in August 2019 and had sent sexually explicit messages, images and videos before arranging to meet in Christchurch Park, Ipswich.
Baker had thought he was meeting a girl called ‘Emily’ but was instead met by plain-clothes police officers who seized his mobile phone which contained incriminating messages.
On Monday ( February 21) Baker was jailed for a total of 52 months.
John Farmer for Baker described his client as having limited intellect.
He said Baker had lost his job as a kitchen porter after his last conviction 18 months ago and had since been diagnosed with early onset dementia.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here