24 October 2023 , 19:51
1057
0
A "dangerous offender" went to a hotel with the intention to abuse a 12-week baby after discussing his sexual interest in children online.
Mark Whalley, 71, was arrested in the foyer of the hotel as National Crime Agency (NCA) received intelligence about his behaviour. The twisted paedophile had discussed his sexual interest in children under 12 years of age on the online Wickr platform and shared indecent images of kids with other users on the site.
Whalley, from Manchester, described the extreme abuse he wanted to engage in. When NCA investigators found Whalley had used Wickr to message an individual who said they had access to a baby, and discussed how he would like to carry out the abuse when they met, they raced to the hotel in Manchester city centre.
Whalley was jailed on Monday for six years and eight months. Manchester Crown Court heard the sick predator told officers at the hotel they were mistaken and attempted to pass the meeting off as an affair.
But he eventually pleaded guilty to making and distributing indecent images of children, and later admitted an additional count of arranging a child sex offence. The court heard there was no baby at the hotel but Whalley had arranged to abuse a child while subject to a separate investigation, in which indecent images of children had been recovered from his devices in 2021.
Man in 30s dies after being stabbed in park sparking police probe
Speaking after sentencing, Daniel Waywell, NCA Operations Manager, said: "Mark Whalley is a dangerous offender who had clear intentions to rape a young child. As a result of close collaboration with colleagues here in the UK and overseas, we were able to intervene and arrest him, and he will now spend years behind bars for his crimes.
"The NCA works tirelessly to ensure that children are protected from sexual abuse, identifying the offenders who pose the highest risk and ensuring that they are held accountable."