Sex offender snared by fake online profile

A man who sent a “13-year-old-girl” explicit photos and said he wanted to have sex with her has been jailed.

Natalya Draven, 50, was challenged by an online child activist group in St Andrew’s Street, Cambridge, at about 8pm on July 20 2022.

The group had arranged to meet with Draven after engaging with him for several months on Facebook messenger using the guise of a teenage girl.

Pictured: Natalya Draven, 50. 

Officers arrived after Draven called 999 and said the group had assaulted him. 

Draven, who was using the name Fane Aro Cardei in chats with the “girl”, said he wished to be her boyfriend and wanted to have sex with her. He also sent explicit photos, despite the decoy saying from the outset she was 13. 

He also described her as “stunningly beautiful”. 

In 285 screenshots that showed contact between the pair between May and July, Draven spoke about meeting up and booking a hotel room for them both to spend time together so they could have sex.  

Draven was also arrested for breaching his Sex Offenders Register notification requirements after not telling police within three days of registering the name Fane Aro Cardei.

After his arrest when his mobile phone and laptop were examined, an indecent video of a child was found on the phone.

On Friday (22 November) at Cambridge Crown Court, Draven, of Mill Road, Cambridge, was jailed for two years and seven months after pleading guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and failure to comply with Sex Offenders Register notification requirements. 

He was also found guilty of one count of making indecent images of children.

DC Andrew McKeane said: “Draven brazenly continued to talk to the decoy and sent explicit photos of himself, despite being told she was 13-years-old.

“We will do everything in our power to bring those who groom, or attempt to groom, children to court and I am pleased Draven has now faced justice.” 

For more about child abuse, including how to report it and spot the signs, you can visit the dedicated page on the force website.