Man who groomed teen girls jailed

A man who attempted to incite sexual activity with what he believed was three separate teenage girls has been sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment. Lee Webster, 32 and of no fixed address, was arrested by officers from Kent Police in March 2018 following reports that he was attempting to meet a teenage girl in Dartford. Following an examination of his computer records, officers subsequently charged him with five counts of attempting sexual communication with a child and five counts of attempting to incite sexual activity a child. He pleaded guilty to all offences and was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday 10 August 2018. Detective Constable Darran Bassett, from Kent Police, said: `Webster has proven himself to be a very real and very serious threat to underage children, who he was seeking to exploit for his own sexual gratification and I welcome the sentence he has received. ‘It is important to point out that in this particular case Webster was speaking with decoy accounts and on no occasions was a real life child in danger. ‘This sentence reflects the strong stance the courts and police take against those seeking to exploit children and I would encourage anyone with information on other offences to contact us on 101 so we can protect victims and bring offenders to justice.’