Flintshire teen sentenced for sexual chat with young girls

Nathan Mainwaring, of Llys Maes Teg in Greenfield, appeared at Mold Crown Court for sentence on Tuesday morning.

The 18-year-old, who appeared via video link from HMP Berwyn, had admitted a number of offences at a previous hearing, including: causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, sending threatening communication, making indecent images of a child, sexual exploitation of a child and make/supply article intended for use in commission of computer misuse offence.

Frances Wilmott, prosecuting, told the court the majority of Mainwaring's offending related to his behaviour towards two female children he spoke to online when he was aged 16 and 17.

In both cases, the communication was highly sexualised and graphic - with Mainwaring making degrading remarks and instructing the girls to commit sex acts.

However in the case of the second victim, it was said Mainwaring had admitted his guilt on the basis he had believed she was older than she was - which was accepted by the court.

In interview Mainwaring denied he had a sexual interest in children.

When his computer was examined, it became apparent by the programmes he had that the defendant had also been seeking to access stolen credit card details, as well as stealing passwords and hacking into other computers.

He told police he was "knowledgeable about computing" and that he'd only acquired the programmes as he was "interested in learning," but that over time he'd begun to use them.

Myles Wilson, defending, told the court: "The pre-sentence report assessed him as 'immature' and he is only 18 - but he seems especially immature.

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"He's learned about sex, it seems, from the internet. He's a part of this generation which has been exposed to and has had access to eye-wateringly graphic pornography that has never been available so easily before.

"It will have warped his attitude to sex."

Mr Wilson said in some instances, the conversation on the part of both defendant and victim had been "very peculiar."

And he shared his concern that the two children became victims around a year apart - as there was a delay in bringing his client to court.

He said: "In an ideal world, he'd have never got around to committing the offences against [the second victim] over a year after he made admissions to the police about [the first victim].

Nathan Mainwaring (NWP) (Image: North Wales Police)

"Ideally he'd have been getting rehabilitation rather than being on police bail and committing these further offences."

Judge Rhys Rowlands said Mainwaring's behaviour was "really worrying," and "beggars belief."

He told the defendant: "This is all part and parcel of an inadequate young man seeking to exercise a degree of power and control over others.

"Although you were, and remain, a young man - it's plain you were very far from functioning as one would imagine an innocent 16-year-old to behave.

"You were behaving as a sexual predator, displaying a degree of sophistication far beyond your chronological years. It is truly depraved behaviour.

"It has taken the police and CPS far too long to bring the sexual offences to court.

"The impact on the two victims has been profound."

Overall, Mainwaring was handed a 42-month term of detention in a young offenders institute.

He was made subject to a ten year sexual harm prevention order to monitor and control his use of the internet, as well as having to register as a sex offender.

A ten year restraining order was also imposed to protect the victims.