Hampshire paedophile jailed for arranging to abuse child

A paedophile who made plans to abuse a 9-year-old child has been jailed.

Between January and March 2020, 61-year-old Stephen Biles had been communicating online and over the phone with an adult, and discussed meeting in order to arrange for Biles to abuse the other adult’s niece at a hotel.

What Biles didn’t realise at the time, however, was that the person he was speaking to was actually a police officer from the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU) and the child didn’t actually exist.

On 1 April 2020, Biles was arrested at his home address in Riverside, Ringwood. Examination of electronic devices seized from his address uncovered that he had 52 Category C indecent images of children in his possession.

Following further investigation by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Internet Child Abuse Investigation Team (ICAT), Biles was charged with making indecent images of children, and two counts of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

Biles pleaded guilty to the indecent images offence, however denied the other two charges.The case went to trial at Portsmouth Crown Court on 4 September this year where he was found guilty.

Appearing at Southampton Crown Court on Friday 27 September, he was jailed for 3 years and 9 months. He was also made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and ordered to sign on to the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

When passing sentence, the judge remarked that the investigation uncovered a ‘prolonged torrid exchange of messages over a period of time’, and that Biles ‘couldn’t let the prospect of meeting a child go’.

Following the sentencing, PC Gemma Southcott, from ICAT, said:

“This was a lengthy investigation utilising specialist tactics to target a man posing a very clear risk to children.

“In spite of the overwhelming evidence gathered against Biles, he still maintained his innocence. This only prolonged his inevitable conviction, with the jury taking just one hour to reach their verdicts.

“ICAT are a specialist team dedicated to targeting those who use the perceived anonymity of the internet to cause serious harm to children. It is challenging work and the investigations can be lengthy and complex, but we are committed to removing dangerous people from the streets.

”NEROCU Op Lead, Detective Inspector Allen Hull, said:

“This has been a great example of police partnership at its best. Coming together using a holistic approach to put a dangerous predator behind bars.

“We will continue to do all we can to protect children from harm whether that be in-person or online along with our police colleagues across the country.

“If any child or young person is concerned about someone they’re speaking to online, please tell someone about it or report it directly to the police.”