South Yorkshire man jailed for online grooming offences

Paul Neil Tunstill, of The Bridleway, Rawmarsh, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court today (Friday 9 February) where he was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

He was also handed a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

He pleaded guilty to one count of causing or inciting a female child under 16 to engage in sexual activity at a court hearing last month.

The court heard how Tunstill spent around two months sending sexually inappropriate messages to someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl.

Detective Sergeant Gareth Gent, who led the investigation, said: “Tunstill’s messages became increasingly sexually aggressive and explicit, demonstrating a clear intention to incite an underage girl to commit sexual acts.

“We also recovered evidence of instructions from Tunstill to delete his messages once they had been received, indicating he knew what he was doing was illegal and he wanted to avoid detection.

“I am pleased that he has pleaded guilty to the offence put before him and is going to prison for his crime.”

South Yorkshire Police are currently running a forcewide campaign highlighting the risks of online grooming, using the film ‘Kayleigh’s Love Story’ by Leicestershire Police.

More information is available at www.southyorks.police.uk/cse.