A Brighton man bragged about sexually abusing a young girl in front of her mother to an undercover detective, a court heard this week.
Raymond Charman, 63, made up the perverted fantasies about a 10-year-old girl while chatting with the officer, who he believed was a fellow paedophile, on the chat.iw and Kik platforms.
Charman, of Chiddingly Close, Whitehawk, was arrested just days after the exchange in August 2022.
Yesterday, he was given a six-month suspended sentence and fined £2,000 at Lewes Crown Court, for the offence of publishing an obscene chat log.
Sentencing, Judge James Hay described how Mr Charman had “bragged” about committing child sexual abuse in the messages and had used the phrase “I was trying to be clever”.
Judge Hay said: “I am only sentencing you for publication of the chat log, not what is claimed.
“You acted deliberately in writing disgusting messages, although mercifully you were discussing with an undercover police officer.
“Your behaviour crossed the custody threshold, neither a fine or a community order would be sufficient.
“I am just persuaded that there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”
Prosecutor Rio Pahlavanpour said the messages Charman sent stated he had “interests in little girls and teaching them what they are for.”
In the messages, Charman claimed that he had performed a sexual act with a 10 year old girl, who he had been abusing since the age of seven, and with that girl’s mother present.
Mr Charman’s defence lawyer, Kelly Thomas, argued that there was no direct threat to children as a result of his actions.
Ms Thomas said: “Ultimately his actions were complete fantasy.
“He was under extreme stress and wanting to escape reality. He felt he had no one to talk to and obviously went to extreme lengths.
“If your honour would be concerned whether he is telling the truth about a lack of interest in sexual activity with children, his devices were searched with no further evidence found and it was Mr Charman who stopped the messages, not the officer.
“He says he just realised what he was doing was wrong.”
So how much was this a case of a Police officer encouraging such conversation? As a gay man I remember pretty undercover police officers trying to get gay men by showing their interest in public toilets.
Sad people made to pervert when at a low point, while Royals seem immune from being actually involved in under age sex scenarios. What do we have a police force for making easy cops?