Nicholas Murphy, 45, (pictured) used the nickname ‘Horrible Nick’ on the Kik Messenger app
A devastated father was physically sick when he heard how a vile peadophile plotted to gang rape his three-year-old boy using online apps.
Nicholas Murphy, 45, used the nickname ‘Horrible Nick’ on online messaging apps to share his fantasies with other paedophiles – including wanting to rape a three-year-old with another man.
Murphy of Upton Green, Speke, was arrested after a group of ten paedophiles, who used the anonymous messaging program, was infiltrated by undercover police.
Detectives traced his location and swooped on his previous address in Cheshire.
During his hearing at Liverpool Crown Court, the boy’s father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, read an emotional victim impact statement which described the moment police told him that his son had been at the centre of Murphy’s sick fantasies.
He said: ‘My heart sank when they gave me the news, I went straight outside and started being sick, crying my eyes out.
‘Making this statement now is making me upset… you read about this but you never think it will happen to you.
Murphy pleaded guilty to three counts of attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence.
Police searching Murphy’s phone found two sets of chat history with two different men, as well as chat history from the group of ten.
The victim’s father said: ‘At first, the police could only tell us what we needed to know for our son’s safety, but after he pleaded guilty they could release more information.
Murphy (pictured), of Upton Green, Speke, pleaded guilty to three counts of attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence
‘It was just horrible. It makes you feel sick.
‘They read to us the chat history of his conversations on Kik Messenger and there were graphic details of what he wanted to do to my child.
‘He was using the name Horrible Nick, and was speaking to other paedophiles.
‘Knowing that it was all being planned, you can’t help but imagine what might have happened to your son had it not all been stopped.’
After his arrest in September 2016, Murphy’s court date was delayed four times due to psychiatric examinations.
After initially pleading innocent, he changed his plea to guilty.
The father added: ‘Going to court was horrible. Being sat in the waiting room near him and being in court near him was horrible.
Murphy (pictured) was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life, and issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order
‘All you can think about is what he said he was going to do to your son, it was absolutely horrible having to look at him knowing what he had said.’
On February 15, 2018 at Liverpool Crown Court, Judge Rachael Smith sentenced Murphy to three years imprisonment for three counts of attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence.
He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life, and issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO.)
The SHPO bans him from having contact with children other than his own or direct family who have given him permission. It also prevents him using any internet enabled device which doesn’t store a copy of his browsing history and prohibits him from using any cloud-based online storage unless he also gives login details to the police.
A spokesperson for child protection charity NSPCC said it welcomed the sentence: ‘Murphy clearly poses a danger to children, but fortunately in this case he was stopped before his sickening fantasies were made a reality.
‘His actions are a prime example of the lengths of depravity that paedophiles are willing to go to.
‘The father of the child Murphy had planned on abusing has been put through a frightening ordeal that no parent should ever have to experience.
‘Anyone with concerns about the safety of a child can speak to the NSPCC Helpline in confidence, 24/7 on 0808 800 5000. Children in need of advice and support can call Childline on 0800 1111.’