Jail for paedophile who messaged undercover officer

A paedophile who thought he was messaging teenagers but was actually in contact with undercover police officers has been jailed for four years.

Joshua Fowler, 27, from Coronation Avenue, Whittlesey, near Peterborough, was in contact with someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl in November and December 2023 using the Kik chat app.

Despite the "girl", who was an undercover police officer, stating how old she was, Fowler's messages were sexual in nature, said Cambridgeshire Police.

He was first arrested in early 2024 and his phone was seized and analysed. The indecent images of children it contained included five in category A – the most severe.

There were also four extreme pornographic images of adults with animals.

He was arrested again in October 2024 while on bail - after being caught by another undercover police officer.

Again, Fowler was messaging someone he mistakenly believed to be another 14-year-old girl, trying to get them to perform a sex act.

On 17 January, at Huntingdon Law Courts, he was jailed after pleading guilty to:

• Two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child
• Attempting to incite or cause a girl to engage in sexual activity
• Attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to watch or look at an image of sexual activity
• Two counts of making indecent images of a child
• Possessing an extreme pornographic image

Det Sgt Jonathan Lockwood said: "Mobile phones and social media mean children can be vulnerable to those who prey on their innocence and exploit their trust.

"In this case, Fowler was stopped and arrested thanks to the work of undercover officers.

"Not content with being arrested for some serious allegations, Fowler then was caught for a second time and had clearly failed to learn his lesson."

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