A married father-of-two sending thousands of charity parcels to British servicemen in war zones secretly pestered forces’ wives for sex.
Chris Webster, 43, from Derby, sent shoeboxes filled with gifts, toiletries and luxuries to British troops worldwide.
But he used his position as chief executive of Shoeboxes For Our Heroes, run alongside his wife Sherian, to target lonely women.
He asked vulnerable women what underwear they were wearing and demanded ‘sex talk’ in the early hours.
Some of his 14 victims had contacted his organisation offering help, while he found others on military websites.
Married Chris Webster, 43, used his position as chief executive of Shoeboxes For Our Heroes, to target lonely women
Caroline Lemon, 33, from West Yorkshire, said: ‘He targets vulnerable women. In my case I had just broken up with my husband and he knew that too’
His youngest victim, thought to be just 17, was asked about her lingerie while her boyfriend was in the Gulf.
The woman, who was contacted via the WAGS of the Royal Navy support group, told The Sunday Mirror: ‘It was a wicked thing to do. I was at college and he asked me to help with his charity.
‘He asked for my number and address “for security”. Then the smutty chat started. He and a friend would ring at 3am and say they wanted sex talk.
‘He would ask what underwear I was wearing and say he was excited. He said he needed someone young to have sex with to keep up with his sex appetite. He was relentless, asking for explicit photos of me naked.’
Caroline Lemon, 33, from West Yorkshire, said: ‘He targets vulnerable women. In my case I had just broken up with my husband and he knew that too.
‘It started with him asking rude questions about my breasts and if I was on any dating sites. He would ask about my underwear and ask when we were meeting up.
‘Then he sent photos of himself and a video. It was totally disgusting. He made my skin crawl.’
Mr Webster has apologised for his actions which he described as being driven ‘by a compulsive sexual addiction’
Mr Webster has apologised for his actions which he described as being driven ‘by a compulsive sexual addiction’.
He added: ‘However none of the ladies were married to men from any deployed or serving forces. I fully accept this was totally inappropriate, morally and ethically wrong, spiritually wrong and I am deeply ashamed of the hurt I caused to these ladies, their husbands, their families and to my own wife and family.’
Webster had set up the organisation in 2011 and attended events and carnivals dressed in Army uniform.
He lied about having been in the forces and suffering PTSD. In reality he failed to complete training as an Army reservist.
Shoeboxes for Heroes was established as a company in October 2015 but that status was dissolved in February this year and, according to Mr Webster, it has been running as an organisation with charitable aims.
Since then, SFOH has continued to run stalls and seek donations.
He was confronted by a former soldier at the Long Eaton carnival where he refused to answer questions about his business activities.
He initially said the accounts for the organisation were ‘all online’ but later claimed he ‘didn’t have to publish anything’ and that they were instead ‘in a folder’.
A spokesman for The Charity Commission said: ‘Several concerns have been raised with the commission in regards to the organisation Shoeboxes For Our Heroes, which is not a registered charity with the commission.
‘We are currently assessing these concerns to determine what, if any, regulatory action is required.’
The Walter Mitty Hunters Club HQ, who expose bogus war heroes, told MailOnline: ‘Chris and Sherian Webster both abused their positions for their own ego. Chris Webster took it further and used the charity as a vehicle to gain confidence of vulnerable women while their husbands were serving overseas. Disturbingly some had lost their loved ones in Iraq and Afghan.
‘Despite this Webster would then attempt to send explicit text, pictures and videos of himself out of the blue to these women.’
Webster had set up the organisation in 2011 and attended events and carnivals dressed in Army uniform
Shoeboxes for Heroes was established as a company in October 2015 but that status was dissolved in February this year but it continued to run stalls at carnivals and events
In a statement Mr Webster said he was ‘deeply sorry’ for his conduct.
He said: ‘I am ashamed to admit that I did engage in sexual chat, send unsolicited, inappropriate and explicit pictures and videos of myself to a number of ladies, all of whom were above the age of consent.
‘I fully accept that my historic conduct in relation to me sending unsolicited sexual messages, ‘sexting’ and sending explicit pictures of myself to some 14 females over a period of time, (often when they were at low points emotionally and emotionally vulnerable).
‘I am truly sorry for the hurt, harm, pain and shame I caused each of these ladies and my own wife who has been impacted by this old conduct.
‘My conduct was driven by a compulsive sexual addiction, which I am now receiving treatment for by means of therapy and attending a 12 step group.’
He also insisted he suffered from PTSD but said that came from being brought up in a ‘dysfunctional childhood and broken home’.
Regarding wearing military gear he said: ‘I accept that I have “dressed up” as a soldier on many occasions and I truly and sincerely intended to harm, disrespect or hurt from my actions.
‘I will cease and desist wearing any form of military clothing at future events and wear my SBFOH Polo Shirts and continue with my charity service via SBFOH.’
He added: ‘We need to up our game in order to win back trust.’