Online Sheffield pervert who preyed on child's vampire fascination is spared from prison

Jordan Esty, aged 30, of Oak Street, Mosborough, sexually communicated online with a 13-year-old girl and was caught with indecent images of children on his phone, according to a Sheffield Crown Court hearing. Esty, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to sexually communicating with a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, five counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, three counts of making indecent photos of children and one count of possessing a prohibited photo of a child.

Judge Jeremy Richardson KC told Esty during the November 7 hearing: “The crimes in respect of which you have pleaded guilty would normally attract a sentence of imprisonment of some substance. A custodial sentence is plainly justified in a case of this kind but I make it clear a custodial sentence for you would be crushing and you would suffer comprehensibly in prison.”

The court heard Esty has been diagnosed with autism, has depression, anxiety and agoraphobia, and he was bullied at school. He has limited social skills and needs support with everyday living.

Judge Richardson said Esty committed the offences between July and October, 2017, after he began communicating with the youngster on an internet messaging platform and the communication became sexual.

The complainant, whose online profile had claimed she was aged 16, told Esty she had been reading a book about a vampire and a human falling in love and this led to role playing between the ‘dominant’ defendant and the youngster, according to Judge Richardson.

Judge Richardson said Esty persuaded the youngster to send indecent images of herself and the defendant asked her to touch herself and he sent her pornographic images. The court heard Esty’s phone was examined by police and he was found to be in possession of category A, B and C indecent images of children with category A being the most serious.

However, Judge Richardson considered Esty’s extensive personal problems and said the defendant is ‘not irredeemably wicked’.

Judge Richardson told him: “You manage your life entirely by the use of the internet. You have to be assessed by a daily carer in terms of your personal hygiene and home cleanliness. You spend your days watching films and using the internet for the limited social actions you have.”

Esty was sentenced to a three-year community order with a sex-offender programme, a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and half-yearly reviews. He was made subject to the Sex Offenders Register for five years and to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period.

Judge Richardson told Esty: “I want to make it absolutely plain to you that if you step out of line once – for example if you did not attend one the programme sessions or you did not attend one of the Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days, you would be the subject of breach proceedings and you will be brought before me and I will send you to prison for three years.”

He added that Esty was being punished but there is also a form of purposeful rehabilitation that would not be possible if the defendant was sent to prison.