Steven Pearson, a 44-year-old man from London, has been sentenced to ten years in prison for grooming and sexually assaulting an underage girl.

Pearson was already on bail for downloading indecent images of children when he contacted the vulnerable girl through the Roblox app. He then communicated with her on Discord and traveled to meet her in Manningtree last October.

During the meeting, Pearson sexually assaulted the girl, who had gone missing from her home after claiming she was going to meet her teenage boyfriend. Pearson's grandfather spotted the interaction and alerted authorities.

Police found that Pearson had sent inappropriate messages to the girl, including "Love you princess, have you had a good day at school?" He also admitted to engaging in sexual communication with a decoy account, believing he was talking to a 13-year-old girl.

Judge Mary Loram KC sentenced Pearson to ten years in prison, registered him as a sex offender for life, and issued a 20-year sexual harm prevention order barring him from contact with anyone under the age of 18.

The judge emphasized the seriousness of Pearson's offenses, stating that he preyed on a vulnerable girl and manipulated her vulnerabilities for his own purposes.