Paedophile caught twice by undercover officers

A paedophile’s attempts to groom teenage girls online were thwarted when he was caught out by undercover officers not once, but twice.

Joshua Fowler, 27, messaged who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl in November and December 2023 using the Kik instant messaging app.

Despite the “girl”, who was actually an undercover police officer, stating how old she was, Fowler’s messages were entirely sexual in nature.

Fowler also sent a video of himself performing a sex act in his home, together with photos of his genitalia.

He also claimed he loved seeing teenage girls in their school uniform.

Fowler was arrested in early 2024 and his phone was seized and analysed, where it was found to contain indecent images of children; one category C image and five category A – the most severe.

Data on the phone also showed Fowler to be a member of numerous group chats focused on sharing child sexual abuse material. Alongside this, there were four extreme pornographic images of adults engaging in sexual acts with animals found on the device.

In police interview Fowler, of Coronation Avenue, Whittlesey, Peterborough, answered no comment to all questions.

He was released on bail pending further investigation and was due to be charged with the offences in November last year.

However during this time on bail, Fowler went on to use Kik and Snapchat to speak to another 14-year-old girl - but this was in reality a second undercover officer.

This began in late October and the conversation soon became sexual once again – with Fowler trying to get the girl to perform a sex act.

Fowler was arrested a second time and charged and remanded in relation to the conversations with both girls, with offences including:

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

Fowler admitted all the offences at a previous court hearing and was sentenced at Huntingdon Law Courts on Friday (17 January), where he was handed a total of four years in prison.

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.

“Protecting young people from harm is one of our top priorities and we will continue to work tirelessly to keep them safe.”

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