Former teacher jailed for child sex offences

Samuel Robinson was caught speaking with what he believed was a 13-year-old girl

A former primary school teacher and scout leader has been jailed for child sex offences.

In April 2023, Samuel Robinson, 27, made contact with a person he believed was a 13-year-old, but turned out to be a decoy from an online child activist group.

The decoy repeatedly told him they were 13, but he continued with the sexual conversation and was arrested on 11 April before being charged and pleading guilty to numerous child sex offences.

On Wednesday, Robinson, of Butt Lane, Milton near Cambridge, was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court to two years and 10 months in prison.

Prior to his arrest, Robinson had been talking with the decoy through social media platforms between 7 and 11 April last year.

Cambridgeshire Police said the activist group visited him at his home on 11 April and he was subsequently arrested.

Robinson's electronic devices were seized and an examination of his Snapchat account found he had also communicated with a 15-year-old girl between May 2021 and June 2022.

The conversation was of a sexual nature and he offered to send inappropriate pictures of himself.

He previously pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual communication with a child, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a girl to engage in sexual activity.

Det Con Caroline Murphy of Cambridgeshire Police said the offences had no connection to Robinson's teaching or his role as a scout leader.

"Robinson was well aware of the obligation we all have to protecting young people so to contact what he believed were children in this way and engage them in grossly inappropriate conversation was appalling," she added.

"This case shows the seriousness with which we take protecting children from harm."