News

On Thursday, a 24 year-old-man, of George Town, was charged with 18 counts of grooming and indecent assault against three juveniles, including rape, sexual communication with a child, meeting a child following sexual communication and indecent images of a child.

He is currently on court bail, awaiting trial for five counts relating to a separate incident involving a fourth victim, that took place in March 2023.

The most recent matters came to light at the end of 2023, when the mother of one of the latest victims intercepted communications between the offender and her child and alerted police. Complex enquiries concerning various communication devices, involving over 13,000 messages, were conducted, identifying further evidence against the offender, resulting in the most recent arrest and additional charges.

“It appears contact with the victims was initiated through social media”, says Detective Superintendent Peter Lansdown. “This situation serves to stress the importance of parents and guardians being actively aware of the communication young persons are engaging in on messaging services and social media networks, via, predominantly, their mobile devices”.

The man attended court this morning, Friday 15 March, and is currently in custody.