Depraved double life of Mossley man

A SEEMINGLY respectable family man from Mossley had a depraved secret life on the dark web.

Ian Mills was caught following a police sting in which officers masqueraded as children and paedophile parents, Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester, was told.

The 51-year-old, who was convicted of 20 charges including attempting to cause young girls to engage in sexual activity, attempting to commission a child for sex offences and making and distributing indecent images of a child, was jailed for four years and four months.

“The nature of the offences were such that most right-minded people would be appalled and revolted by,” Judge Angela Nield told Mills.

“Each of the offences was committed against or in respect of children whether they may be teenagers who might have been exploring for the first time their sexuality or younger children.

“And you had discussions with individuals you believed to be parents or carers of those children who appeared to offer the services of their own flesh and blood for your sexual gratification.”

Judge Nield described the evidence as “harrowing”, adding people in court would find it difficult to forget what they had heard.

Mills, who had been remanded in custody at HMP Altcourse since July, will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention harm order for an indefinite period and will be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Julian Goode, prosecuting, told how Mills logged onto the Fab Swingers platform and engaged with the undercover officers who were Tom and Debs who had a fictional 12-year-old daughter Megan.

He said: ‘’He sent a message describing himself as a ‘real dirty perv’ and the ‘more extreme perve the better’ and provided his KIK username as S******1969.

“Conversation continued via KIK where he described himself as a ‘real fat guy’ and forwarded a number of images of himself naked.”

A webcam call took place on Skype later in which Mills discussed meeting the couple and their daughter to have sex with her.

He told them that there would be logistical issues to them meeting as he did not drive but there are occasions where his wife worked away overnight and he would have the house to himself.

Mr Goode added the youngest person Mills admitted being with was a 16-year-old male who he met on Fab Swingers. He said he thought the boy was younger as he was incredibly fresh-faced.
Police arrested Mills and seized a mobile phone and two laptops on which they found indecent images of children and a 51-second video of a child of approximately eight years of age in a nightgown putting on socks. She was not wearing underwear.

Further inquiries revealed Mills had been communicating online with paedophiles on a swingers’ website.

Others were targeted online including sisters aged 15 and 12, a 15-year-old who offered to get her 11-year-old sister to watch while another user offered to meet Mills accompanied by her 10-year-old niece.

Alison Heyworth, defending, described Mills as being remorseful, of good character with a work ethic and family life.

She argued much of his actions were “bravado”, saying: “He had entered a dark world of fantasy. In the real world he did not act in that way.

“He accepts his life will never be the same, but he wishes to move forward.”

But Judge Nield, who admitted the case left a lot of “unanswered questions”, told Mills: “You can’t restore your good character. You have lost it and it can never be restored.”

She pointed out Mills would have been looking at a sentence of “double figures” had he “completed his actions”, explaining only one child actually existed.

Police traced the parents of that youngster who was filmed in the video and the mother read a powerful and emotional victims’ statement to the court in which she said their lives had been changed forever knowing what had happened, adding she and her husband were struggling mentally to deal with it.

The court ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the equipment seized from Mills.