A man who groomed, “love bombed” and engaged in sexual activity with a 12-year-old child has been jailed.
Bradley Lamond, 24-years-old of Welholme Road in Grimsby was charged with nine counts of sexual activity with a child and pleaded guilty to seven of the offences at an earlier court hearing. He was jailed for eight years and handed a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order following his appearance at Grimsby Crown Court on Thursday, 24 April.
Leading the investigation was Protecting Vulnerable People Officer Paul Wells who said: “Lamond was 18-years-old when he first met the child and took advantage of them even after he found out they were only 12-years-old.
“He manipulated the child into providing their social media details so he could contact them, take advantage, love bomb and groom them, eventually gaining their trust and coaxing them into sending explicit photos to each other to satiate his sexual deviancy.
“I cannot commend the victim enough for taking that step and coming forward to report Lamond. It is never easy, and the judicial process can be long and complex. Their bravery cannot be underestimated.
“It is never the victim’s fault, and I would strongly appeal for any child who is being manipulated into doing something they don’t want to do, or anyone who suspects crimes of this nature are taking place, to please speak to a trusted adult or friend and report it to us, when you are ready.
“It doesn’t matter if the offences happened five hours or 50 years ago, we take all reports of this nature extremely seriously and will do everything we can to bring predatory offenders like Lamond to justice.”
Part of the Gi Grimsby News team since 2020.