Jail for man who groomed boys on Internet.

A father of two, Peter Williams (38), has been sentenced to over seven years in prison for sexual offenses against teenage boys.

Williams, a former human resources officer, was found guilty of befriending boys online, gaining their trust, and meeting them for sexual encounters. The court heard that while he did not physically force the boys, he took advantage of their uncertainty about their sexuality and persuaded them to engage in sexual activity beyond what they would have consented to otherwise.

Two victims testified that they felt "dirty" and "uncomfortable" after the encounters. Williams had also attempted to meet a 15-year-old boy in London after grooming him online, but the boy refused to respond to his messages and the meeting never took place.

The court was informed that Williams had a previous conviction for similar offenses in 2005, leading to an 18-month prison sentence. During the investigation of the current case, officers discovered over 450 indecent images of boys on his computer.

Judge Jeremy Burford QC highlighted the pre-sentence report, which classified Williams as highly skilled in grooming victims. The report also concluded that he had minimized the severity of his actions and posed a significant risk of harm to children, especially teenage boys.

In mitigation, Williams' lawyer argued that the offenses occurred during a tumultuous period in his life, marked by marital breakdown and loss of access to his children. Williams admitted that he sought solace in the gay community but failed to control his behavior.

Following his release from prison, Williams had successfully completed sex offender treatment programs and made efforts to rebuild his life. However, he lost his job due to the ongoing legal proceedings.

In addition to the prison sentence, Williams was added to the sex offenders register and placed under a sex offender prevention order, prohibiting him from communicating with children under 16, except for his own children with the consent of their mother. He is also permanently banned from using the internet to contact children under 16.