Paedophile Richard Baker jailed for 8 years after sending stream of pornographic messages to 14-year-old girl and attempting to meet her for sex

Richard Baker, 50, sent texts to the account of someone he believed to be a child in January this year – initially posing as a parental figure by giving her ‘advice’.

This ‘advice’ turned from messages about how to stay safe around men, and selfies of him and his dogs, into a torrent of pornographic images.

Baker also planned to meet her for sex, in Fareham, but thankfully, the child was fictitious.

Baker, of Smythe Road, Southampton, was sentenced to eight years in prison at Portsmouth Crown Court today.

This comes after he pleaded guilty to arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and attempting to cause a child to watch an image of sexual activity in relation to the messages he sent on his phone.

He also pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault against a girl aged 13 to 15 years old which took place when he was in his early twenties.

Hampshire police have released screenshots of some of the messages.

‘Over the next few days, can I give you some advice about life?’, said one.

Baker’s other texts to the girl said: ‘I’m 50. Is that a problem?

‘Is there anything you want to ask me for advice about?

‘What do you do to relax?

‘I’m happy to talk, I’ve been single and along for too long.

‘You also need to be careful when messaging people, not all of them are kind and caring.

‘Some just want to try and get you to do things you don’t want to do.’

Baker sent the messages between Tuesday, January 4 and Tuesday, January 18.

They then escalated to explicit pornography, and expressing a desire to hug her.

He said it was up to her if it was an ‘undressed hug’.

Baker agreed to meet the girl on Tuesday, January 18, in Fareham, telling her not to share his name and age as he would ‘get in a lot of trouble’.

When the paedophile arrived on location, he was arrested by police with a camcorder in his possession.

In a prepared statement given at the time, Baker said he was ‘was trying to explain and warn the girl about how boys can be.’

Later on, he confessed to sending the messages and trying to meet up with a child for sex.

The court heard how Baker was also given a restraining order against two teenage girls in December.

In addition to his prison sentence, Baker will be put on the sex offenders register for life.

He will also be subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order with conditions such as not having any unsupervised contact with children under 18 and not being allowed within five metres of school grounds. If he breaches this order, he will be arrested and sent back to prison.

Officers from Hampshire Constabulary investigated the case with support from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (Serocu).

DS Heather Hudson from Hampshire Constabulary, lead officer in the case, said: ‘By taking Baker off the streets, we have removed a dangerous predator from our community.

‘With young people having ready access to the internet and mobile phones, it is more important than ever that parents stay vigilant and educate their children about how to keep safe online.

‘These messages show the tactics a sexual predator will use to win a child’s trust – from presenting themselves as a role model to using pets to impress them.

‘I hope this sentence demonstrates the lengths we go to in order to keep children safe from sexual exploitation and abuse, and also might encourage any survivors of child sexual abuse to speak to us.

‘It does not matter when it took place, or how old you are – you will be heard, you will be taken seriously and you will be supported in whatever decisions you wish to make.’

Detective Inspector James Oxley, from Serocu, said: ‘This case demonstrates our commitment to protect children from sexual exploitation from those who seek to do them harm. Following a thorough investigation, Baker has been convicted of these very serious offences.

‘If you or someone you know has been a victim of child sexual abuse, I would urge you to report it to your local police force.’

Survivors of child sexual abuse can call us on 101, where you can speak to our specialist detectives in complete confidence.

:: The Lucy Faithfull Foundation is the only UK wide charity dedicated solely to preventing child sexual abuse. For anonymous support and advice, use the Stop It Now! helpline on 0808 1000 900 or visit stopitnow.org.uk/helpline/.

:: For more information about keeping your children safe online, and to be signposted to other organisations who can help, visit hampshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/caa/child-abuse/online-child-abuse.