A prolific pervert was jailed for contacting an underage girl on the internet – after developing a strange fetish for orange balloons.
David Hunter, 67, got in touch with the schoolgirl on social media before sending her links to ‘balloon websites’ and messages telling her she was ‘gorgeous’.
Lincoln Crown Court heard police raided the pensioner’s home and found he had been in contact with the 15-year-old, who he had previously secretly filmed on a bus.
Hunter was jailed after admitting breaking a sexual prevention order previously put in place to control his behaviour
Officers also seized bizarre footage showing Hunter appearing to ‘simulate sex’ with an orange balloon.
He he was jailed for three-and-a-half years after he admitted breaking a sexual prevention order put in place previously to control his behaviour.
Sentencing, Judge John Pini QC said: ‘I have to continue to protect the public.
‘What is clear from your antecedent history is an absolute, wilful, persistent refusal to comply with court orders.
‘It is right to point out that in terms of direct sexual contact there is nothing.
‘So you present as a very significant risk, but one that doesn’t appear to have materialised.’
The court heard Hunter was jailed for 40 months in 2015 for filming a girl on a bus – but got in contact with her several months after being released from prison.
He sent a Facebook request to the girl in March this year accompanied with a black and white photo of a school boy and references to balloon websites.
He sent the girl a message to the girl after having previously been jailed for filming her on the bus
There was further contact on Instagram and two messages sent by Hunter to the girl at the end of March which said ‘you’re gorgeous’ and ‘love you to bits.’
Brian Outhwaite, prosecuting, said Hunter had also ‘developed a fetish for orange balloons.’
A raid on two properties linked to the pensioner were carried out in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire earlier this year.
The court was told 200 photos of girls either holding or blowing up balloons were found when police searched his home in Gainsborough, Lincs.
Hundreds of similar images were found when police searched two sheds which Hunter had built himself on land sub-let to him on a farm in Aslockton, Notts.
Police found hundreds of photos of balloons when they searched his home and two sheds
There was also evidence Hunter had been swimming with a nine-year-old girl on the rapids at Butlins and had used the false name of ‘David Harley’ on invoices found at his home.
He admitted four charges of breaching a sexual offences prevention order and one charge of failing to comply with a notification requirement relating to the use of an alias.
The court heard Hunter was first convicted of taking indecent or pseudo photos in 1994 and has been under a series of Sexual Offences Prevention Orders since 2001.
Christopher Brewin, defending, said Hunter was released from prison on licence in the middle of 2016 and was not recalled to jail until April 5 this year for the new offences.
He said his client did not initiate the contact with the girl at Butlins and told the court many of the photos showing girls with balloons were old images.
Hunter claimed he used the alias of David Harley because he did not want his neighbours to Google his real name and discover his past.