A FATHER of three, described as a “danger to children”, has been jailed for 30 months after pleading guilty to a string of offences involving underage girls.
Stuart Eyles, 44, of Market Street, Hyde, was caught after police officers posed as teenage girls on a social media platform to snare paedophiles.
And the investigation uncovered a series of offences between August 2018 and January 2019 which led to Eyles appearing at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, for sentencing.
Eyles admitted:
• One count of sexual
communication with a child
• Five counts of attempted sexual
communication with a child
• One count of causing a child to
engage in sexual activity
• One count of attempting to incite
a child to engage in sexual activity
• Twenty-one counts of making
indecent images of a child
• Thirty counts of distributing
indecent images of a child
The court heard how this case was originally reported to Greater Manchester Police by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit back in 2018 after Eyles instigated conversation with one of their undercover officers over the KIK social media platform which they had been monitoring, with the belief that he was speaking to a 14-year-old girl.
Alexandra Sutton, prosecuting, explained how the undercover operative informed Eyles, whose username was ‘Squid Thing’, that the profile was that of a 14-year-old child and offered to cease the conversation.
Eyles stated he did not want that to happen and began to sexualise the conversation; asking for indecent images to be sent.
In March 2019, a warrant was carried out at Eyles’ home in Romiley, Stockport, where devices were seized, including a laptop, a camera, a mobile phone and a USB stick.
Following this warrant, officers met Eyles outside his workplace in Wythenshawe where he was arrested on suspicion of attempt sexual communication with a child and a further mobile phone was seized.
Detectives conducted a forensic examination of these devices where they discovered further criminal activity, including online sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl who he had sent sexually explicit pictures of himself and asked to meet for oral sex. She was the only person known to have existed as the others were police officers masquerading as young girls.
They also found numerous indecent images of children stored on the devices.
Eyles, who also used other platforms, was subsequently further arrested on suspicion of further sexual offences and later charged.
Miss Sutton said Eyles told police he was bored working nights when he had a lot of free time and that is when he started the illegal activity.
She explained Eyles was aware some of the profiles were fake and he said his actions were “hypothetical and fantasy to push things”.
John Kennerley, defending, explained it has had a “catastrophic” effect on Eyles’ life.
Mr Kennerley pointed out he was forced to leave the matrimonial home as this was the “final straw” for his marriage which was already not in a good place. He moved into a flat in Hyde and had since had limited contact with his children and lost his job.
“He was interviewed in March 2019 and accepted his guilt but had to wait more than two years to be dealt, which was through no fault of his, and which he described to me today as being death by 1,000 cuts,” explained Mr Kennerley.
“It had a depressive effect and he had suicidal thoughts over the last two years.
Mr Kennerley admitted Eyles had “behaved appallingly” but to be fair he had confronted what he had done, and the pre-sentence report said he had “shown genuine remorse”.
“He is motivated to correct the errors of his ways and to avoid future offending,” he said.
He also pointed out there was “only one real victim” and there was not a high number of indecent photos and none depicted any form of suffering.
Mr Kennerley argued for a suspended sentence and community order, pointing out Eyles had found new employment stacking shelves in a supermarket.
Recorder Ian Harris said a custodial sentence was inevitable in view of the gravity of the charges.
He said: “You offered the reason as being bored, but it was to fill an emotional need and you were immersed in a need for sexual gratification.
“You described your behaviour as ‘stupid’ but it was criminal and perverted.
“You lost your job, and your family broke up, but it was self-inflicted by your crimes.
“These offences spanned the period August 2018 until January 2019 and were not a one-off.
“It also involved the downloading and distribution of indecent photos and, without people like you, there would be no market for them, and children would not be abused for sexual purposes.
“The victims are children who were coerced in taking part in the photos and will have suffered mental and psychological harm.”
Eyles must sign the sex offenders register for 10 years and issued with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order while the court also ordered to seized equipment to be forfeited and destroyed.
Detective Inspector Suzanne Keenaghan, of GMP’s sexual crime unit, said: “Eyles is a danger to children and used social media to prey on his victims with the perverted intention of coercing underage girls to send him indecent images for his own sexual gratification.
“The nature of these offences must not be underestimated. Child sex offences can have a damaging impact on the victims, creating trauma that they have to then carry with them for the rest of their lives.
“Hopefully this result serves as a stark reminder that GMP is committed to investigating all claims of child sex offences and will ensure that those engaging in this abhorrent behaviour are brought to justice.”
Help is available for victims of rape and sexual assault at:
• Saint Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre, Manchester, 0161 276 6515
• Greater Manchester Rape Crisis 0161 273 4500 or help@manchesterrapecrisis.co.uk
• Survivors Manchester 0161 236 2182.