Harwich man jailed after arranging to meet child in Clacton

Barry Creswell has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after he was greeted by vigilante paedophile hunter group Innocent Voices near Clacton train station instead of the fictional child.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard 40-year-old Creswell had befriended the decoy account on Facebook in April 2021 but it was in May of this year when conversation turned sexual.

Joe Davidson, prosecuting, stated the father-of-two started calling the child “babes” and “cheeky babes” and made innuendos about being good with his hands.

“He told the decoy he was going to be working away in Clacton for a couple of days,” said the prosecutor.

Sentence - Chelmsford Crown Court (Image: Google Maps)

“He told her she can go on the rides at the funfair he works at for free.”

The pair agreed to meet on May 28 under the premise Creswell would buy her a McDonald’s meal as his treat before they could then “lie down” in his hotel room.

The paedophile even joked people might think the youngster was his daughter in the days building up to their date, but confessed he was “scared” it might be a set-up.

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However, Creswell, of Rose Bank, Dovercourt, still sent a video of himself performing a sex act to the account and told her he would be the first boy she cuddles.

The court heard the decoy confessed the only thing she knew about sex was what she had been taught at school, to which Creswell asked if she would perform what she had learnt with him.

Jailed - Barry Creswell - Picture: Essex Police (Image: Essex Police)

He was eventually caught near Clacton train station shortly before 11am on May 28 having travelled to meet the ‘child’.

Creswell later admitted attempting to meet a child following grooming, engaging in sexual communication with a child, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to look at an image of sexual activity and possession of cannabis.

Elliot Moulster, mitigating, said his client felt he had made “the worst mistake of his life”.

He was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and forbidden from meeting any lone female under the age of 18.