Social worker jailed for 'sexually' messaging teens

Thomas Weller was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court

A West Sussex social worker has been jailed for sexually messaging two young teenagers on Snapchat.

Thomas Weller, 33, from Faygate, near Horsham, also accessed records of another teenager he had a relationship with.

He was sentenced to 34 months in prison after admitting sending "truly revolting" explicit texts.

Sentencing him, Judge Christine Laing KC said: "You were working in children's services, you knew better than anybody else how vulnerable young children can be, and they were children."

'Scarred for life'

Weller had pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual communication with a child and misconduct in public office in July.

His sexual communication was not connected to his role as a West Sussex social worker, the court heard.

The mother of a 13-year-old girl who exchanged nearly 300 messages with Weller, who posed as a 20-year-old man, said she thought her daughter had been "scarred for life" and lost trust in everyone.

The court heard how the 13-year-old repeatedly told him her age and on one occasion he replied "idc" - meaning "I don't care".

'Cry for help'

In a victim impact statement read to court, her mother said: "She has lost trust in social services, she has lost trust in men, she seems angry when she talks to me.

“Her safe space is her bedroom and now he’s like a ghost who floats around in there.”

The court also heard how the social worker exchanged more than 200 Snapchat messages with a 15-year-old boy and offered for him to come to his home, but it was only the boy's reluctance that stopped it going ahead.

Weller had also been using the photo of a man he knew for his fake Snapchat profile, who told of his "shock" and that he "felt sick" when he found out.

It was heard he told police that maybe his actions were a "cry for help".

The judge added: "The real harm of that offence is the impact on the wider circle, all people who rely on children's family services, to protect what is almost always deeply personal information, them at their most vulnerable, and it is that trust that you destroy when accessing that information."

A spokesperson from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said: “By sending sexual messages to young people online, Weller showed a blatant disregard for his knowledge and role as a social worker, which was to support the vulnerable.

“He would have been well aware of the devastating impact that sexual abuse can have on children."

Following the sentencing, Det Ch Insp Jon Gillings: “Thanks to the bravery and support of Weller’s victims and their families, we have been able to bring an extremely disturbing offender to justice.

“Weller held a position of trust, with a duty to protect vulnerable children. His crimes are a betrayal of that responsibility."

Defending Weller, Oliver Kirk said he suffered from mental disorders which related to his offending and that he was "full of remorse".

Weller will be on the sex offender's register for seven years.