Shamed Clanfield pervert who sought sex with girls sent topless picture of himself holding his crotch - but was snared by vigilante group

Ashley Woodruffe sought solace during a tough period in his life by attempting to lure teenage two girls via online chats. He offered reassurance they would not get into trouble as he attempted to exploit the children. But the 37-year-old was ousted by a vigilante group who exposed his dark intentions after revealing he had in fact been talking to decoys.

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Portsmouth Crown Court heard how Woodruffe, of Chalton Lane, started his seduction attempts with the message ‘hello gorgeous’ to one girl who told him she was aged 14 within a few messages. Undeterred, Woodruffe sent a topless photo of himself holding his crotch before steering the chat towards sex and asking if she needed any help.

The girl said she was ‘scared’ at the prospect of a sexual relationship before Woodruffe ‘made a promise she would not get into any trouble’. The second girl he struck up an online chat with, he called ‘sexy’ and asked for naked images whilst turning the conversation to sex.

Woodruffe was confronted by the vigilante group who called police before he was arrested. The conversations took place from September 9 to 22 in 2021. The defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

The court was told the offending happened during an ‘acute period’ in Woodruffe’s life after the breakdown of his relationship.

Judge David Melville KC said: ‘Your aim was to have a sexual relationship in some form over the internet. It never happened in reality because both girls did not exist because they were decoys to catch someone like you trawling the internet for this type of relationship.’

The judge opted against immediate jail with Woodruffe instead handed an eight-month sentence suspended for two years. He was also given 35 rehabilitation days, 80 hours of unpaid work, and a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

Judge Melville added: ‘Children are at huge risk and it’s fortunate you were speaking to decoys. You mustn’t get involved in this sort of thing again.’

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