Mark Presley thought he was meeting two 13-year-old girls on Blackpool pier
A sex offender who attempted to meet two young girls for sex has been spared jail after a judge ruled he had ‘suffered already’ because of his lifelong disability.
Mark Presley thought he was meeting two 13-year-old girls after exchanging hundreds of Facebook messages with them but had been set up by the vigilante paedophile hunting group, ‘The Innocence Keepers.’
He was arrested by police on October 28 last year as he walked along Blackpool’s South Pier believing he was meeting a 13-year-old girl called ‘Samantha’.
In messages he said he wanted to have sex with the youngsters and told one he didn’t want to ‘make her pregnant’.
The group caught Presley during a sting operation after he promised to hand over a stick of Blackpool rock, clothing and presents for the ‘special little girls’.
An hour long film of the confrontation and his subsequent arrest was posted on Facebook.
The 49-year-old admitted attempting to incite a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity and trying to meet a girl following grooming.
But at Preston Crown Court, Judge Andrew Woolman said there were ‘no real victims’ in the case and Presley had ‘suffered already’ due to the disability Cerebral Ataxia which means he uses a walker.
He concluded Presley was a ‘vulnerable, pathetic and clearly very distressed individual’ who had endured lifelong bullying and was ‘desperate for company’.
The court heard Presley, who has been in custody since his arrest, had previously been convicted of sex offences in 1990 aged 22, and was given a probation order.
At Preston Crown Court the 49-year-old admitted attempting to incite a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity and trying to meet a girl following grooming
Members of the group caught Presley during a sting operation at the seaside resort after he promised to hand over a stick of Blackpool rock, clothing and presents for the ‘special little girls’
Imposing a three year community order, the judge said: ‘There were no real children in this case – both the Facebook profiles were created by the Innocence Group who seek to catch sexual offenders by creating such profiles.
‘The defendant has suffered cerebral ataxia which affects his mobility and he has learning difficulties. He suffered bullying in school and for the rest of his adult life and has been victim of hate crimes.
‘He struggles with ordinary things in life, is depressed and takes medication and is therefore not surprisingly lonely and has little self esteem. He is desperate for any company.
‘It’s suggested he’s not attracted to young girls but just wants their company. I’m not entirely convinced but if he did meet a real girl no sexual activity would have taken place because of the defendant’s personality.
‘These are attempted offences and not actual offences. To say he’s a pathetic figure is an understatement.
‘Fortunately, there were no real victims in this case. The defendant is the nearest thing to a victim in the case having suffered his whole life from his problems.’
An hour long film of the confrontation and his subsequent arrest was posted on Facebook
Imposing a three year community order, the judge said the sentence was the ‘best way of helping society at large’
The conversations over Facebook had begun in June 2017 when Presley sent a friend request to a girl he believed to be 13 called Katie Jenkins.
The bachelor, who claims to be a devout Christian, sent hundreds of messages and clips of his favourite Elvis Presley films and songs over social media.
Prosecutor Emma Kehoe told the court: ‘[The messages] began with a conversation about [Katie’s] life and whether she had a boyfriend.
‘She told the defendant she was too young but he told her he found her attractive and he would like to hold her. Katie reminded the defendant that she was at school and only 13 years of age but he ignored the facts and suggested they met in Blackpool.
‘He said she could come to Blackpool and stay at his and sleep where ever she wanted. There was more sexual conversation between the two.
‘He said he loved her, said he would like to have sexual intercourse with her but if it hurt too much he would stop. He assured her he didn’t want to make her pregnant.’
Miss Kehoe added dozens more messages were exchanged between Presley and ‘Katie’ and another profile set up by the group, ‘Samantha’ which culminated in a meeting.
She said: ‘It has to be taken into account that the offence could never have been completed.’
Judge Andrew Woolman said there were ‘no real victims’ in the case and said Presley had ‘suffered already’ due to the disability Cerebral Ataxia which means he uses a walker
Presley will have to sign the Sex Offender Register, and abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years
Presley rocked back and forth in the dock cradling his head and sucked his thumb as his defence lawyer Paul Robinson told the hearing: ‘He’s expressed his remorse not only by his guilty plea but in written letters.
‘He’s dealt with emotional abuse and bullying. He has been the victim of disability hate crime in his adulthood and has found it difficult to maintain age-appropriate relationships and has ended up trawling the internet and latching on to the profiles of these two girls.
‘He has ongoing medical difficulties which he’s experienced from a very, very early age. He did meet up with what he thought was a girl but his own physical difficulties would have made any further contact or any manifestation extremely difficult. He’s not able bodied to have grabbed her by the hand and taken her away.
‘People that find it difficult having age-appropriate relationships find it easier to have relationships with people of a younger age because they don’t feel as intimidated. Society would be better served and the public would be better protected to deter him from further offending by addressing the issues.
‘He is concerned he may well suffer some abuse, physical and emotional abuse and is likely to have to be re-housed as a consequence because of these matters. He doesn’t want to go on Facebook again, he knows the trouble it got him in.’
Presley told the court: ‘I would like to say I’m sorry for putting people through this mess, I’m totally sorry. I want somebody to shut my Facebook account down.’
He will have to sign the Sex Offender Register, and abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.