“Do you know what your child is doing online?”: Warning as man in jailed for online child sex offences

“Do you know what your child is doing online?” That is the warning from an online child exploitation investigator after a Warwickshire man was jailed for four years for engaging in sexual communication with young children online.

“If not, then you need to. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking your child can’t fall victim to this type of crime,” said Detective Sergeant Dave Moorman from Warwickshire Police’s Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team (OCSET).  

Joshua Wilson from Bedworth was arrested in October 2024 after Gwent Police received a report that a 9-year-old girl had been asked for nude photos while having a conversation with someone on social media. He was pretending to be a 12-year-old.  

Enquiries identified Wilson as the offender, and he was arrested. 

Investigators found evidence on his phone of sexual conversations with other young girls.  

During enquiries, the OCSET team also found indecent photos and videos of children, some of whom were believed to be as young as five or six. Some of these were category A, the most serious kind.  

DS Moorman continued: “The parents of the 9-year-old girl from Gwent were fortunately vigilant and monitored their child’s use of the phone. This is how they spotted the messages shared with Wilson.  

“Predatory paedophiles such as Wilson will go to great lengths to befriend and exploit young children. By working together and being vigilant we can make it as difficult as possible for them.”  

Wilson, 27, of Alice Close, Bedworth was jailed at Warwick Crown Court last week after pleading guilty to one count of attempting to cause a child to look at an image of sexual activity, one count of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, two counts of engaging in sexual communications with a child and three counts of making an indecent image of children.  

Please take the time to learn how to keep you child safe online - Keeping children safe online | NSPCC