Kettering paedophile who travelled to meet '13-year-old girl' for sex avoids prison

A Kettering pervert travelled to meet what he thought was a 13-year-old girl for sex – only to be confronted by paedophile hunters.

Levi Marston groomed the ‘youngster’ on Facebook and WhatsApp, telling her she wouldn’t get in trouble for sending him naked pictures and that he would teach her how to perform a sex act.

The 22-year-old then made arrangements to meet her at a railway station to have sex with her and was caught red-handed when adults, who had been posing as the teenager online, live-streamed a ‘humiliating’ confrontation with him.

But Marston was spared from prison after Northampton Crown Court heard he had waited more than three years for police to launch criminal proceedings, a delay which couldn’t be explained.

On Friday (December 22) prosecutor Quiana Fitzpatrick told the court that paedophile hunters set up a decoy profile on Facebook, purporting to be a 13-year-old girl, when Marston initiated contact in January 2020. He was 18 at the time and the ‘girl’ told him she was 13 and wasn’t local to him.

Ms Fitzpatrick said: "He was not put off by her age nor the distance."

Marston, of Hodge Way, asked if she was single and whether she wanted to date him. He went on to request naked photos of her.

Ms Fitzpatrick added: "He would tell her she could trust him and would not be getting into trouble for sending these pictures."

The court heard the paedophile, who has no previous convictions, said he was ‘horny’ and sent an explicit picture of himself before the chat moved onto WhatsApp. When the decoy again reminded him of her age he asked for topless pictures.

In February Marston removed the decoy’s profile from his Facebook friends before sending her another friend request on March 8.

He told her he was performing a sex act on himself and asked if he could have sex with her before telling her he would teach her how to perform a sex act.

When the ‘girl’ asked if she would get pregnant as they had no condoms Marston said 'it would be fine', the court heard. They arranged to meet at a railway station at about 5.20pm the following day.

But when he arrived he was confronted by paedophile hunter group Predators Exposed Sting Team, who live-streamed what happened. In the video he accepted he was there to meet the girl and take part in sexual activity, the court heard.

Ms Fitzpatrick said: "When asked why he said he was having a down day."

Marston was arrested and police found two devices with 23 extreme pornographic images on them, showing women having sex with dogs. Officers also found he had been searching for terms commonly associated with trying to find indecent images of children.

Despite being arrested in March 2020, and interviewed again in September 2021 over the discovery of extreme pornographic images, Marston was not formally charged until the summer of 2023.

He went on to plead guilty to attempting to meet a child following grooming, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and possessing extreme pornography.

Mitigating, Richard Reynolds said the significant delay in bringing criminal proceedings had meant Marston had spent years with it hanging over his head, quoting a Court of Appeal case where a sex offender who had faced a similar delay had his sentence reduced by 25 per cent.

Urging the case for a suspended sentence with rehabilitation work, Mr Reynolds said Marston had mental health difficulties and suffered extreme humiliation by being live-streamed by paedophile hunters.

He said: "This is a young man who has had a troubled youth...the initiatives that are available have a real prospect of having a significant success."

Sentencing, Recorder Shamim Qureshi said it was fortunate it was not a real child Marston planned to meet and that he didn’t know why it took so long to charge him, adding that he could have been charged in March 2020 or September 2021.

He told Ms Fitzpatrick: "The police are providing mitigation for defendants by the delay that has been caused."

Marston was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to take part in rehabilitation activities.

He will be on the sex offender register for 10 years and subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years, restricting his use of devices and contact with children.