A pervert who preyed on teenage girls walked free from court after admitting to a string of child sex offences.
Kieran Keyworth, 20, preyed on nine teenage girls online between December 2019 and February 2021, sharing his vivid sexual fantasies about them and encouraging them to send him sexually explicit pictures of themselves. Five of the nine girls, aged between 13 and 15-years-old, were tracked down by police, while the other four were presumed to be "decoys" from online vigilantes.
He also gathered a large collection of child abuse images, including 39 serious Category A images.
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He pleaded guilty to a string of child sex offences, including eight counts of attempted sexual communication with a child, six counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, four counts of making indecent images of a child, three counts of taking indecent images of a child, two counts of distributing indecent images of a child, and one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
At Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, July 7, prosecutor Simon Mintz said Keyworth, of Parker Street in Warrington, was first arrested in December 2019. His Google Pixel phone was seized, and was found to contain 136 indecent images of girls aged between three and 14.
He was released under investigation and arrested again in February 2021, when a further 23 category C indecent images were found on his new Samsung mobile.
Police found "thousands of pages of texts and chats" with young girls in which Keyworth encouraged them to perform various sex acts and send him pictures and videos.
Mr Mintz said of one victim: "She recounts in her statement the defendant making persistent requests that she send photographs that culminated in her sending topless images, where she was wearing knickers but no bra."
She added that Keyworth had asked her if she was a virgin, and told her he wanted to take her virginity.
Jim Smith, defending, said: "This is a unique case with a unique defendant that calls for a unique sentence. This is a defendant who is only 20; he was 17 and 18 at the time of the offenses. He's a man of previous good character. Importantly, there has been a subsequent report provided which sets out in substantial detail the conditions suffered by this defendant, namely autism coupled with severe learning difficulties."
He said Keyworth had an IQ of just 68, well below the average 100, and that he had little support from adult services since leaving school.
Judge Ian Harris said Keyworth had "no victim empathy" and that he still had "a sexual motivation towards children". However, he accepted a doctor's report which said the 20-year-old was in need of support.
He said: "At the time you committed these offenses your learning disability impaired your ability to exercise appropriate judgement, impaired your ability to make choices, and impaired your ability to understand the effects and consequences of your actions."
He sentenced him to a two year community order, a 43 day cognitive behaviour programme, and 30 days rehabilitation.
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