Another would-be paedophile manages to avoid jail...

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Pervert wanted teenage girl to travel to Coventry from Leeds after sexual chats online



A Coventry man has pleaded guilty to child sex offences after an online sting revealed he was trying to meet up with a 13-year-old girl.

Martyn Croucher responded to an online profile on a social media site, which purported to be that of a teenage girl called 'Melanie'.

Warwick Crown Court heard that Croucher, an electric wheelchair-user, tried to persuade the girl to perform sex acts on herself. He later began to make arrangements for 'Melanie' to travel by train from her home in Leeds to stay with him.

Details of the online sting came to light during the hearing and it was revealed that in January last year, a man named Daniel Fitzgerald posted a profile on the Oasis social media site, pretending to be that of Melanie.

Croucher, 62, who also had a profile on the site, giving his true age, sent a message saying: “Hi Melanie, I’m Martyn.”

Melanie told him her she was 13 and lived in Leeds and was partly deaf, asking if that was OK, to which he responded that he was probably older than her mum and dad.

During the course of their online conversations, which continued for seven months, Croucher, of Cottage Farm Road, Keresley, sent her pictures of himself naked.

He later suggested that Melanie could come to stay with him, telling her mother that she was staying at a friend’s house.

The idea got as far as discussing the price of train tickets from Leeds to Coventry, with Croucher saying they could be together over the bank holiday and she could pretend to be his niece.

Meanwhile, Croucher was also in contact with what he believed to be a 12-year-old girl called 'Ella', who was in fact an undercover police officer.

Their exchanges, which continued until the day before Croucher's arrest on the 'Melanie' offences, became sexual, with Croucher asking Ella intimate questions.

Croucher had pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity and two charges of attempting to engage a child in sexual communication.

He was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to take part in a sex offender programme.

Recorder John Steel QC also ordered Croucher to register as a sex offender for ten years.

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I had to look oasis up...

Launched in 2019 by Weibo, Oasis is a fashion and lifestyle social platform targeted at young middle-class and affluent consumers, mostly women. So far, Oasis has proven to be popular with young females with higher disposable incomes, living mainly in first and second tier cities.

He posted pictures of himself?

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He might wish he had been jailed after the neighbours read this?

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Pervert who wanted teenage girl to travel to Coventry has sentence changed after appeal hearing

The court found that his original sentence, passed at Warwick Crown Court, was unduly lenient and ordered him to be jailed immediately.

Martin Croucher, 63, had pleaded guilty to the offences after an online sting revealed he was trying to meet up with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl.

Details of the online sting came to light during the hearing and it was revealed that in January last year, a man named Daniel Fitzgerald posted a profile on the Oasis social media site, pretending to be that of Melanie.

Warwick Crown Court heard that Croucher, an electric wheelchair-user, tried to persuade the girl to perform sex acts on herself.

He later began to make arrangements for 'Melanie' to travel by train from her home in Leeds to stay with him.

Croucher, who also had a profile on the site, giving his true age, sent a message saying: “Hi Melanie, I’m Martyn.”

Melanie told him her she was 13 and lived in Leeds and was partly deaf, asking if that was OK, to which he responded that he was probably older than her mum and dad.

During their conversations, Croucher, of Cottage Farm Road, Kerseley, sent pictures of himself naked and suggested that Melanie could come and stay with him.

He was sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for 18 months on June 3 and was ordered to take part in a sex offender programme.

However, following the court's decision the Solicitor General referred Croucher's case to the Court of Appeal.

This week the court found that his sentence was unduly lenient and handed down an immediate prison sentence of three years.

After the hearing at the Court of Appeal the Solicitor General, Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP, said: “Croucher’s intentions were deeply disturbing, engaging in sexual communications for a prolonged period with what he thought were two young girls.

"It is important that his sentence reflects the gravity of his crimes, and I am pleased that he will now face a term of imprisonment.”