Medic used dating apps to groom young girls for sex.

St John Ambulance Volunteer Sentenced for Grooming Underage Girls

David Cardwell, a 52-year-old volunteer from Weston, has been sentenced to 11 months in prison for attempting to engage in sexual communication with underage girls.

Cardwell, who also worked as an NHS agency worker, pleaded guilty to three counts of the offense at Bristol Crown Court in May. He was caught by paedophile hunters posing as girls aged 12-14.

During the investigation, police discovered over 1,214 explicit cartoon images depicting children and babies on Cardwell's computer. Judge Mark Horton described these images as "of the very worst kind."

The court heard that Cardwell had initiated contact with the "girls" through a dating app and later encouraged them to use WhatsApp and Kik for communication, allowing him to delete their conversations.

Cardwell admitted to preferring young girls and requested pictures from the decoys. Police later found images of other unidentified girls of similar ages in his possession.

The judge noted that Cardwell had lost his family, home, and job since his arrest and had been experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Despite his involvement with St John Ambulance, the Air Training Corps, and teaching basic first aid to children, Judge Horton emphasized that Cardwell showed no genuine remorse for his actions and lacked understanding of the severity of his crimes.

In addition to the prison sentence, Cardwell was placed on a 12-month supervision order, required to register as a sex offender for 10 years, and issued a sexual harm prevention order.