Man jailed after grooming girls in Canada over the internet
A man from the West Midlands who groomed teenage girls in Canada online has been jailed for 40 months.
Mark Shortt, of Honeysuckle Close, Quinton, Birmngham was caught after information was shared between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and West Midlands Police.
The 45-year-old was reported after one of the Canadian teenage victims found out he had been exchanging indecent – by posing as a 24-year-old.
West Midlands Police's Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team carried out an investigation into Shortt's activities after the information was passed on.
Detective Constable Hazel Steer from the force’s Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team, said: “Shortt thought he was going to get away with these disgusting crimes by targeting children living abroad.
“However, there are no hiding places, we are committed to tracking down sexual predators wherever they are and will work with other forces both in the UK and overseas to do so.”
Shortt was charged with two counts of causing a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, one count of sexual communication with a child under 13, one count of attempting to cause a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, two counts of causing a child under 13 to look at an image of sexual activity and one count of attempting to cause a child under 13 to look at an image of sexual activity.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced on January 25 at Wolverhampton Crown Court – and will also be placed on the Sex Offender Register for life.
