Known paedophile lied on Instagram to groom girl

Shaun Fox was jailed for nine and a half years, with an extended five years on licence

A "predatory" convicted paedophile abused a 14-year-old after setting up a fake Instagram account and pretending to be a teenager, a court has heard.

Shaun Fox, 43, set up the profile under a pseudonym to "try to ensnare young girls" to groom, Judge Philip Grey told Cambridge Crown Court.

His messages were intercepted by the victim's parents around the same time he began sending sexual material, including child abuse.

Calling him "every parent's worst nightmare", Judge Grey jailed Fox for nine and a half years, with an extended five years on licence.

Fox, of Peterborough, admitted 11 offences, including cause/incite a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity and distributing an indecent image of a child.

Prosecutor Irsa Iqbal told the court Fox's offending was revealed in June when the victim's parents became aware, with the girl believing he was 17.

Fox sent indecent images of himself and the court heard the girl had sent an explicit image of herself.

In an exchange seen by the victim's mother, Fox, using the alias, sent a series of three explicit videos.

Trail of devastation

Police linked Fox to the account through a top up mobile phone, and he was arrested.

The victim's mother said "this man has taken away her innocence" and "brought sexual violence and abuse into her life".

Judge Grey said the girl and her parents "bear no blame whatsoever for what happened".

He told Fox he had left a "trail of devastation just so you could get your kicks".

Fox, he said, had a "plan to corrupt and sexually abuse her online".

Mitigating, Sophie Clifford said Fox was "deeply remorseful", and claimed "he feels like he is a teenager in the wrong body".

Ms Clifford told the court Fox said: "Once I get less supervision and support I start spiralling and reoffending."

However, Judge Grey said "your regret, in my judgement, was you were caught".

Fox has previous convictions for 15 child sexual abuse offences and had last been released from prison in May 2023.