Man jailed for attempted grooming of '13-year-old'

Phillip Buckingham was messaging who he thought was a 13-year-old girl

A "vile" man who went by the online name of "funtimefred" has been jailed for attempting to groom someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl but who was actually an undercover police officer.

Phillip Buckingham, 61, of Goole, East Yorkshire, pleaded guilty on 16 May to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child after he messaged a police decoy account.

At Hull Crown Court on 20 August, he was given nine months in prison, made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for five years and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Det Con Paul Twidale said: "Buckingham is a vile individual who sought to exploit who he believed to be a vulnerable child."

An investigation was launched in November 2022 when Buckingham used messaging apps to initiate contact with a social media profile he believed belonged to a 13-year-old.

He sent a series of sexually explicit messages, including an indecent image of himself, to the decoy account and encouraged the recipient to send a photo in return, police said.

Det Con Twidale said: "Thankfully, no child was harmed as Buckingham was talking to a decoy social media account, and I am pleased he is now behind bars and facing the consequences of his disturbing behaviour."

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