Former Cardinal Wiseman teacher manages to avoid jail for child sex offence...

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Daniel Stevenson appeared at Derby Crown Court after being stung by paedophile hunters



A man who previously taught at a Coventry school has appeared in court for sending nude photos of himself to what he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

Daniel Stevenson has had a long and well-respected career as a teacher and spent around two of those years at Cardinal Wiseman school, before leaving for a different teaching post in 2016.

But his career has ended in disgrace after he was caught exchanging inappropriate messages with someone he believed was underage, reports DerbyshireLive.

Stevenson contacted the 'girl's' profile on a social media site in October last year.

He then spent a number of weeks communicating with the person, with one message seeing him admit that speaking to people 'her age' made him "aroused".

He went on to send voice messages, photos and clips touching himself sexually.

What he didn't realise was he was actually speaking to the Innocent Voices Team, self-styled paedophile hunters who gave the evidence of their chats to police.

Sarah Slater, prosecuting, told a sentencing hearing at Derby Crown Court that Stevenson initially contacted the profile on October 14 last year.

"He tells her he is a teacher," she said. "He confirmed he enjoys talking to younger girls - he is aroused by it."

Miss Slater said he sent photos of his private parts to the apparent child, as well as a video and voice memo of himself committing sex acts.

Miss Slater said it was "a two-week period where he's talking to somebody he thinks is a 14-year-old girl."

He was eventually arrested by cops when the Innocent Voices Team reported him on.

Stevenson, of Cranmer Street, Long Eaton, was later charged with and pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child.

David Outterside, mitigating, said: "The only question is whether or not this inevitable prison sentence is capable of being suspended or not. He feels appalled with himself and is ashamed by his actions."

In the hearing on Wednesday, October 13, Judge Shaun Smith said this was a "particularly serious case of this type".

"Everybody who speaks of you speaks incredibly highly of you and are completely shocked that you would engage in this type of behaviour," he said.

Judge Smith said that there were mitigating factors including Stevenson's previous good character and his charity work during the Covid pandemic.

He added that the defendant had referred himself to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity dedicated to preventing child sex abuse, following his arrest and had accessed psychological therapy services.

"It seems to me that you have demonstrated already that there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation," he said.

Judge Smith imposed a sentence of eight months imprisonment suspended for 21 months, meaning Stevenson walked free from Derby Crown Court.

He also ordered him to undergo 30 rehabilitation activity requirement sessions, undertake 240 hours of unpaid work and imposed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.