By Lucy Caulkett-
A registered sex offender from Derbyshire has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy he groomed online.
David Alexander Murphy, 40,(pictured) from Derby, drove to Suffolk to meet the child and sexually assaulted him in a wooded area, highlighting the severity of online grooming and its potential consequences.
AD: Capeesh Restaurant
The National Crime Agency (NCA) initiated an investigation into Murphy after receiving intelligence about his actions.
The investigation revealed that Murphy had used an Irish passport under the alias ‘Alex McClean’ to open a PayPal account, through which he sent money to the victim.
The victim confirmed that he had met ‘Alex’ from Derby online in spring 2021, with conversations later shifting to WhatsApp, where Murphy sent explicit photos and requested the same from the boy.
AD: Oysterian Sea Food Restaurant And Bar
It is not known whether the boy reciprocated in sending photos to Murphy.
On June 1, 2021, Murphy traveled to Suffolk and met the boy, eventually leading to the sexual assault.
The National Crime Agency declined to reveal to The Eye Of Media.Com why the boy went to meet the 45 year old man, or whether he knew Murphy’s true age at the time of the meeting.
The victim provided a description of Murphy and details about the car he drove, which was traced back to a car club in Derby that Murphy was part of.
NCA investigators subsequently arrested Murphy in March 2023.
During a search of Murphy’s house, investigators discovered two Irish passports—one under his name and the other under ‘McClean.’ They also found a bank card, two concealed sim cards, and an Amazon Fire Stick.
These findings constituted breaches of his sex offender register notification requirements, as did his unsupervised contact with the boy and failure to notify the police about devices capable of storing data.
At Derby Crown Court, Murphy was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison, extended by six years for dangerousness. He was also placed on the Sex Offender Register for life and given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Murphy had previously been sentenced for sexual offenses in 2012 and 2017 with a suspended sentence
The NCA Operations Manager, Danielle Pownall said: ‘David Murphy took his time to groom a vulnerable child online and even offered money to meet him in person.
“The actions of Murphy, an unrepentant child sex offender, were premeditated and devious.
“I would like to thank the young boy abused by Murphy for his bravery in speaking to us and helping to put a dangerous criminal behind bars.
“The NCA will continue to protect the public, particularly children, from the harm caused by online child sexual abuse.”
In 2012 Murphy sexually assaulted a boy and given a 12-month suspended prison sentence. Why he was not jailed on that occasion is a serious question.
The Attorney General in the UK has on numerous occasions increased the sentences of criminals whose sentences are believed to be lenient. It appears no referrals were made to the Attorney General in relation to Murphy’s 2012 sexual assault.
However, five years after his lenient suspended sentence, Mr Murphy he was jailed for two years after admitting distributing indecent photographs of children.
The NCA’s CEOP Education programme supports parents, carers, children and the professionals to ensure young people have safe and positive experiences online.
Grooming Problem In UK
In 2022 there were, 63,050 reports related to imagery which had been created of children aged 7-10 who, in many cases, had been groomed, coerced, or tricked into performing sexual acts on camera by an online predator. This represented a 129 per cent increase on the 27,550 reports in this category in 2021.
Around 34,000 online grooming offences were recorded by UK police forces over the past six years, according to data gathered by NSPCC through freedom of information requests. Children under 12 made up a quarter of the total number of victims.
The NCA advises anyone being pressured or threatened into sending sexual images or videos online should remove themselves immediately from the conversation, not respond further to any contact, and report the matter to police or a trusted adult.
The National Crime Agency says there are a range of resources available on its website, thinkuknow.co.uk, for adults – to support them in navigating the online world and conversations about it with their children, and children themselves – to help build their resilience online and learn what to do if something doesn’t seem right.
AD: Heritage And Restaurant Lounge Bar