John Russell sentenced to 9 years for sexual activity with a child

John Russell, 50 of Salisbury Drive, Nuneaton, has been sentenced to 9 years in prison and put on the sex offenders register for life for multiple counts of sexual activity with a child.

He has also been given a sexual harm prevention order for life and is required to pay a surcharge of £181 towards victim services. 

In December 2019, police received a call from a concerned family friend reporting that the victim had disclosed that she had been groomed by an older man.

Russell had started chatting to the young girl over a popular online chat and forum app, where they made plans to meet up. He communicated with the victim using the username “Rogonad”.

The victim was under the age of 16 at the time.

After his arrest, analysis of Russell’s electronic devices found a chat log history that had messages dating between late November 2019 and late December 2019 using various messaging apps.

Indecent images were discovered on the victim’s phone.

Russell also bought the victim presents including a new phone and took her out on various outings.

The grooming culminated in an incident in which Russell took the victim to an abandoned property, tied her up with red cord, took photographs, and performed sexual acts on her. 

The photographs were later recovered from a mobile device.

John Russell was arrested in the late afternoon on Thursday 19 December. A length of cord matching the images was discovered in the house, along with devices used to contact the victim.

Analysis of the cord turned up traces of the victim’s DNA.

On 17 October, John Russell was sentenced on five counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child, with taking indecent photographs of a child, and with distributing indecent photographs of a child.

Detective Sergeant Paul Vines of the Child Abuse Trafficking and Exploitation (CATE) team said “John Russell deliberately groomed and took advantage of a child he met online for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

“He was able to do so under-the-radar through online forums and messenger apps, and if it hadn’t been for the victim’s family, Russell may have been able to continue the pattern of abuse.

“Russell now has 9 years to ruminate over what he has done, and he will be monitored for a lifetime to prevent this from happening again.

“If you are concerned about a child you know being groomed by an adult, please don’t hesitate to report it to us.”