Warwick child abuser sentenced to over 10 years in prison

A HARMFUL Warwick sex offender who abused children online has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison.

Between May and June 2023, Mark Stewart used an online messaging platform to send messages of a sexual nature. He believed he was speaking to the profile of a girl under the age of 13.

His actions alerted the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit’s Online Investigations Team, who referred the matter to Warwickshire Police.

In late June 2023, Stewart was arrested at his home by officers from Warwickshire Police’s Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team.

Officers searched the home and seized items including two mobile phones. Forensic examination revealed that Stewart had been involved in multiple sexual conversations over a period of several years.

During these conversations, the 32-year-old also appeared to share explicit images of himself, request offensive images from various child profiles and incite them to engage in sexual acts.

Following a complex investigation by Warwickshire Police’s dedicated OCSET team, victims aged between 13 and 17 were identified across the country.

At an earlier court appearance Stewart, of Kempton Drive, had pleaded guilty to eight charges of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, two charges of causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child, three charges of engaging in sexual communication with a child, two charges of causing a child to watch a sexual act, three charges of making indecent photographs of a child, one charge of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and two charges of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

He appeared in Warwick District Court on Friday, August 2, and was sentenced to ten years and three months in prison.

He was also given a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a lifelong sex offender reporting requirement.

DI David Wells of the SWROCU said: “Stewart is a vicious sexual predator who has rightly been given a significant prison sentence for his crimes.

“We are committed to supporting UK police forces in protecting children from harm, reducing risks in our communities and ensuring dangerous individuals like Stewart are identified and brought to justice.”