Ciaran Clark, a 46-year-old man from Widnes, Cheshire, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempting to arrange a sexual encounter with a child.

Clark was caught by an undercover police officer posing as a 12-year-old girl in an online chatroom. He had even booked a hotel room in anticipation of meeting the child. Detectives arrested Clark on December 31, 2022, and he pleaded guilty to arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence - rape / assault by penetration of a child under 13, and being an adult attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

In addition to his prison sentence, Clark was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Detective Constable Faye Taylor from Cheshire Constabulary's Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT) stated that Clark’s intent was clear despite his belief he was communicating with a child online.

The OCAIT team is dedicated to protecting children from predatory individuals like Clark and will continue to work tirelessly to prevent such crimes.