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Postman Who Groomed Kids Online Is Jailed

5:01pm Friday September 24, 2010
Gary Mitchell

A postman who used Facebook and Bebo to groom up to 1,000 children for sex has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years.



Williams used Facebook, Bebo and MSN Messenger to groom up to 1,000 children

Michael Williams created at least eight fake online identities and targeted youngsters he met on his post round, on school runs as a taxi driver and in his role as a football club secretary. The 29-year-old would even dye his hair different colours to hide his identity. Williams, of Tresooth Lane, in Penryn, Cornwall, worked as a postman in his home town, where locals regarded him as cheerful and helpful.

But the paedophile was secretly pursuing youngsters on social networking sites – sometimes using false names and posing as a teenager. Many of his victims were tricked into performing sex acts on a webcam and he convinced some to meet him in parks, on beaches and at his home, where he abused them. Police found thousands of indecent images on his computer and it is believed he would secretly film children as they undressed on nearby beaches.



Williams had thousands of indecent images on his computer

In an earlier hearing at Truro Court Court, Williams admitted 27 charges of inciting sexual activity, grooming and distributing indecent images. He also pleaded guilty to voyeurism and possessing indecent images. Devon and Cornwall Police have identified about 500 boys and girls he groomed or abused over a number of years, but they believe there could be up to 1,000 in total because many are too scared to come forward. Among the identies he created to snare his victims were a 15-year-old girl called "Gorgeous Charlie" and a boy of the same age called James. One of the victims, a 15-year-old girl, contacted police after finding disturbing child pornography on his computer. Every method employed by you was designed to exploit young children by the means you knew would be popular with them - Facebook, Bebo, MSN Messenger.
Judge Paul Darlow

Judge Paul Darlow said Williams' "deceit and corruption" had damaged hundreds of children. He said: "Every method employed by you was designed to exploit young children by the means you knew would be popular with them - Facebook, Bebo, MSN Messenger. "You created for yourself completely fictitious profiles posing as the sort of person teenagers might be attracted to." A spokeswoman for Facebook, which earlier this year agreed to install a "panic button" on the site to protect children, said: "This case serves as a painful reminder that everyone must use extreme caution when talking to or meeting people they only know via the internet."