Jail time for paedophile

A man who believed he was engaging in sexual chats with a 12-year-old schoolgirl has been jailed.

Alexander Senf, 50, began chatting on the Wink app with “Grace”, who was a fake profile set up by an activist group, and then moved the conversation across to WhatsApp.

Senf asked for photos of her in messages between 10 October, 2023, and 15 November, 2023, telling her she was beautiful and that she could trust him.

He messaged her again on 15 November, with sexually explicit requests.

The following day, he was confronted at his home in Cedar Road, Trumpington, Cambridge, by the activist group, who called the police.

He was arrested and digital media devices were seized. More than 500 indecent images of children were found on a mobile, laptop, hard drives and USB sticks.

He was charged with three counts of making indecent photographs /pseudo photographs of a child which included 201 category A – the highest offending category with the worst images; and attempting to cause/incite a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Senf admitted all the offences and was jailed for two years and 10 months at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday (January 30).

Detective Constable Matthew Walshe said: “Protecting young people from harm is one of our top priorities and we will continue to work tirelessly to keep vulnerable people safe.

“There is help out there for people who have sexual thoughts about children, but Senf made excuses for his actions and tried to justify them. I hope he uses his time in jail to choose a different path when he is released from prison.”

Anyone who is concerned someone may have been convicted of a sex offence, and could be posing a risk to someone, can apply for disclosure information through  Sarah’s Law.

You can read more about our work to tackle child abuse, including how to spot the signs and report concerns, on the force's dedicated child abuse information webpages.

Those who have sexual thoughts about children can seek help from confidential organisations such as https://www.stopitnow.org.uk