A sick online predator who groomed a 14-year-old boy before luring him to his flat for sexual abuse has been jailed for ten years. Darren Moore, 57, targeted the teenager online in early 2024 and continued communicating with him despite fully knowing his age.
By March that year, the conversations had turned sexual.
Moore sent explicit images of himself to the child and described sexual acts he wanted to carry out when they met in person.
On 8 March 2024, Moore persuaded the schoolboy to travel by train to his flat in Ely after finishing school for the day.
The teenager went to the address, where Moore sexually abused him.
The boy’s worried mother raised the alarm after he failed to return home from school, reporting him missing to police.
When the teenager later returned home, he bravely disclosed what had happened to his parents and officers launched an investigation.
Moore, of Market Street, Ely, later admitted multiple child sex offences.
At Peterborough Crown Court on Thursday (21 May), Moore was jailed for ten years after pleading guilty to:
- One count of inciting a boy aged 13-15 to engage in sexual activity
- Two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a boy aged 13-15
- One count of grooming
- One count of engaging in sexual communication with a child
Detective condemns “predatory behaviour towards children”
DC Dan Knight, who investigated the case, said: “Despite knowing the victim’s age, Moore took the time to build a relationship with him online over the course of a few months, before he lured him to his flat and sexually abused him.
“The distress Moore has caused to the teenager, and his family, has been unfathomable, and I would like to commend the victim for his courage in reporting Moore, and supporting the investigation throughout.
“Grooming and sexual exploitation can have devastating effects on young people’s emotional development, mental health and self-esteem which stay with them into adulthood.
“I hope this sentence provides some closure to the victim and his family and shows that predatory behaviour towards children will not be tolerated.”
Police are also reminding the public that anyone concerned a person may pose a risk to children can seek information through Sarah’s Law.
