A sex offender from Medway who used social media apps in attempts to groom and abuse children has been jailed for nine years.
David Smith, 68, accessed software including Snapchat, WhatsApp and Kik to seek out and contact victims as young as 12.
Smith, of Childscroft Road, Rainham, was arrested in December 2023. A Kent Police investigation showed that in the months before his arrest he had been using the internet to contact a boy called Jake, who he believed was only 12. Conversations started by Smith were of an explicit nature and included encouraging Jake to send a photo of himself at school and making plans to meet and abuse him. In February 2024, officers then linked the investigation to a victim in Essex, who he also attempted to meet and abuse.
Smith, sometimes also known as Andrew Fowler, pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to several online offences, committed between August 2023 and January 2024. These included engaging in sexual communication with a child, arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, and causing or inciting a chid to engage in sexual activity.
On Friday 13 September, Smith was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment and will have to serve at least two-thirds before he can apply for parole. Upon his eventual release from prison, he will be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and an extended licence period of two years.
DC Barbara Zamorska said: ‘Smith has made persistent and repeated efforts to contact, meet and sexually abuse children. Whilst Jake did not exist – his profile was part of a fictitious account – the victim in Essex was real and only 14. Smith used various methods to groom this vulnerable child, including making claims he was suicidal because of ill-health, which made the victim feel he had to continue to engage with him. He also made several payments to the child, one of which was for £500 and was sent just days after his initial arrest.
‘The graphic detail and demands Smith included in his messages was hugely concerning. This case acts as another reminder to parents of children, who have mobile phones and tablets, to speak to them and help them understand the precautions they should take when using the internet and social media apps. Children should only communicate with people that they know personally and report any suspicions or inappropriate advances from strangers to their parents, schools or the police.’
