Derbyshire paedophile who quizzed girl, 12, about morning after pill before attempted meeting, jailed

Adam Hubbard had sent the girl a friend request on the Kik messaging app and began speaking to her on June 14. Despite the girl making it clear how young she was, the 38-year-old sent her his number before using WhatsApp to send her explicit pictures of himself and encouraged her to do the same.

Just two days later he arranged for the pair to meet at Belper train station – close to his home in the town – and quizzed her about taking the morning after pill.

But unbeknownst to Hubbard he was actually talking to a police officer posing as a child. Officers arrested him on June 16 as he made his way to the train station to meet the girl. They seized his phone, finding the online chats that he had with the girl.

After being charged Hubbard appeared at Derby Crown Court in July where he admitted four charges – attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, arranging to facilitate communication with a child for the commission of a sexual act, and attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

On Tuesday, September 26, he appeared at the same court where he was jailed for four years. He was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must sign the sex offenders register for life.

Detective Sergeant Tom Burton, from Derbyshire Constabulary’s Protecting Children Online Team, said: “Adam Hubbard is a dangerous, predatory individual who firmly believed that he was meeting a child on that June morning. He targeted what he understood to be a 12-year-old girl sending her sexually explicit images and videos of himself within a matter of hours of beginning to talk to her.

“The only saving grace in this case is that he was in fact talking to a police officer and we were able to arrest, charge and remand him so he could not pose a danger to any other children. Forces across the country work 365 days a year to proactively target offenders like Hubbard who pose a real and serious danger to children.”

Anyone concerned about someone’s online behaviour is asked to contact police and make a report. Anyone concerned about their own behaviour or thoughts can contact Stop It Now online.