A 31 year old Newport woman who was the subject of a paedophile hunter sting has been handed a suspended jail sentence today at Isle of Wight Magistrates Court.
Appearing in court today, Laura Harding admitted to two charges of “engaging in sexual communication with a child”.
Indecent images
The court heard that she had sent indecent images of herself to two girls she believed to be 13 years old. Miss Harding had “invited the ‘girls’ to reciprocate”.
However, the girls were in fact decoys working with Guardians of the North paedophile hunters who handed all evidence over to police on the Isle of Wight last month.
“Very unusual” case says lawyer
The County Press report that her lawyer, Barry Arnett, said the case was “very unusual”.
He added,
“They are improper offences. Although we have heard the people behind this were vigilante groups, it matters not. They are serious and of course children have to be protected.
“What you do have is a young lady who has never been in any form of trouble at all and clearly has acted impulsively and has learning difficulties and vulnerabilities.
“She did not stop and think about the consequences of her actions.”
Suspended sentence
Miss Harding was given a six month jail sentence, suspended for one year and asked to sign the Sex Offender’s Register, as well as being made subject of a sexual harm prevention order.
Source: County Press
