Ageing Wakefield paedophile jailed for sex chats with four 'young girls' online
He was found guilty after a trial
A 64-year-old pervert who made sexual remarks towards what he thought were four young girls online has been jailed.
Anthony Hepworth had little clue that the profiles were run by a paedophile hunter group that eventually confronted him.
He was jailed at Leeds Crown Court after a jury found him guilty of six offences - four of attempted sexual communications with a child and two of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
The court heard that Hepworth, of Harrow Street, South Elmsall, Wakefield, had contacted the profiles in 2024, with two claiming to be 13 and the others aged 14.
He sent over 100 messages to the first girl with the conversation “soon becoming sexualised”, instigated by Hepworth.
With two of the other profiles he encouraged them to carry out sexual acts.
Hepworth was confronted by the hunter group on February 28, 2024.
Denying any wrongdoing, he later refused to give evidence at his own trial.
He appeared in court for sentencing over a video link from HMP Leeds where he was being held on remand.
Mitigating, Shila Whitehead conceded she was limited on what she could say, given the guilty verdicts, but said Hepworth had “lost everything” and that he was aware he faced a jail sentence.
Judge Simon Phillips KC accepted Hepworth as a socially-isolated figure.
He jailed him for 40 months, gave him a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and put him on the sex offender register for 10 years.