Christopher Hawksworth has been put behind bars
Christopher Hawksworth
A prolific Leeds paedophile who says “none of my offending is done on purpose” is back behind bars.
Christopher Hawksworth, 41, of Brookfield Street, has been put behind bars for 35 months after being caught messaging what he thought was a 13-year-old girl online.
Hawksworth, who has previously been made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and a suspended sentence for child sexual offences, pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court to attempting to cause a child over the age of 13 to watch an image of a sexual act, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child over the age of 13 and breaking a suspended sentence.
Prosecutor Oliver Connor told Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday that a woman working for the “Dirty Online Predators Exposed” group set up a “decoy profile” under the name of Milly on social media site “Chat Ever.”
The woman used her own photograph, but edited it to look younger, and put her age as 18 before she was messaged by Hawksworth in September this year.
Mr Connor told the court: “The defendant sent a message to her and she immediately told the defendant she was 13 and he said, ’13> Oh too young’ and asked to send her something. She asked what he was and he said, ‘Would you like something I have, every guy has? But I guess if too young that’s fine.’
“She said, ‘A penis?’ She asked him if he had WhatsApp and the conversation moved to there. He sent her a picture of his penis and asked her for pictures and asked, ‘Would you do pictures, bear in mind your age?'”
The court heard Hawksworth went on to ask “Milly” questions about her sexual activity and sent a video of himself ejaculating before messaging her that it was “educational.”
Hawksworth then asked “Milly” if she would go out with him, and asked if they did if they would be boyfriend and girlfriend. Mr Connor added: “And if they were boyfriend and girlfriend, would she meet him and try something out in bed together?
“He displayed grooming behaviour. He ensured her he only wanted to see normal images of her and sent her images of him and warned her about requests of private photographs from others. He told her to say if she got them he would contact the police. He was arrested and his phone was seized and downloaded and the apps were located.”
In his police interview, Hawksworth told officers: “I have been stupid. These are stupid things to say. I have mental health issues, I don’t mean to do it. I was doing really well with the Probation Service over the last two weeks. There are so many fakes on that app and this is doing a public service trying to get rid of them.”
A Probation Service worker told the court Hawksworth had completed 41 hours of the 180 hours unpaid work, and 20 of the rehabilitation activity requirement days out of 40, that he was ordered to do.
Mitigating, Craig Sutcliffe said: “It is, of course, inevitable, the court will impose an immediate custodial sentence. He knows and accepts that. He tells me he had found a relationship with a 40-year-old woman in the weeks leading up to these offences. That relationship came to an end when his partner discovered his past.
Get all the latest and breaking news in Leeds by signing up to our newsletter here.
“He tells me that he ended the relationship. He didn’t think it could carry on and that led him to go into the offending that your honour will deal with today.”
Mr Sutcliffe said Hawksworth was last released from custody in March 2024, but had not offended since May 2023. He said: “There has been a period of time where he hasn’t offended. This was one single time so the grooming was over a short period.”
As His Honour Judge Stubbs jailed Hawksworth, he told him: “You have urges, that when life becomes awkward for you, you simply cannot control [them.]”
Hawksworth responded: “In my defence, none of this offending is done on purpose. Because of my mental health issues, I need a permanent ban on using mobile phones. To say I’m a risk to the public, my only risk is online. I may say it but I wouldn’t ever meet anyone and haven’t.”
LeedsLive has launched a WhatsApp community and anyone who joins will get the latest breaking news and top stories sent direct to their phone. To join click here .
If you don’t like our community, you can leave any time. We also treat members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. Read our privacy notice here .
