A sex offender from Medway who used social media apps in attempts to groom and abuse children has been jailed for nine years following an undercover operation by Kent Police.
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David Smith, 68, accessed software including Snapchat, WhatsApp and Kik to seek out and contact victims as young as 12.
Smith, from Rainham, was arrested in December 2023.
A Kent Police investigation revealed that, in the months leading up to his arrest, Smith used the internet to communicate with a boy named Jake, whom he believed to be only 12 years old. Smith initiated explicit conversations, encouraging Jake to send a photo of himself at school and making plans to meet and abuse him. In February 2024, officers connected this investigation to another victim in Essex, whom Smith also attempted to meet and abuse.
Smith, also known as Andrew Fowler, admitted guilt at Maidstone Crown Court for multiple online offences committed between August 2023 and January 2024. These offences included engaging in sexual communication with a child, arranging or facilitating a child sex offence, and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity
On Friday 13 September, Smith was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment and will have to serve at least two-thirds before he can apply for parole.
Upon his eventual release from prison, he will be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and an extended licence period of two years.
DC Barbara Zamorska said:
‘Smith has made persistent and repeated efforts to contact, meet and sexually abuse children. Whilst Jake did not exist – his profile was part of a fictitious account – the victim in Essex was real and only 14.
‘Smith used various methods to groom this vulnerable child, including making claims he was suicidal because of ill-health, which made the victim feel he had to continue to engage with him. He also made several payments to the child, one of which was for £500 and was sent just days after his initial arrest.
‘The graphic detail and demands Smith included in his messages was hugely concerning. This case acts as another reminder to parents of children, who have mobile phones and tablets, to speak to them and help them understand the precautions they should take when using the internet and social media apps.
‘Children should only communicate with people that they know personally and report any suspicions or inappropriate advances from strangers to their parents, schools or the police.’