'Socially awkward' gamer caught by paedophile hunters sending lewd video to '13-year-old girl' told by judge to get out of his bedroom

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Shrewsbury Crown Court was told that Williams was confronted by hunters in a sting on February 7, 2024 before being arrested by police.

Williams first started a chat with “Amelia” on the app SweetMeet on February 1, 2024, asking her if she wanted to be “friends with benefits”.

She asked what he meant and he told her: “It means friends who have sex.”

She said she was 13, and Williams told her he was 19 but that they could “just be friends”.

However, the chat moved to Whatsapp and soon turned sexual again.

Williams asked her if she wanted to have sex with him, and said he would “buy her something” after.

She told Williams she “wouldn’t know what to do”. He said he would “teach her”.

"Playing games and j***ing off."

At one point in the chat, she asked what he was doing one evening and he replied: “Playing games and j***ing off,” and repeatedly said he wanted to have sex with her.

On February 6 he sent her a photograph of his private parts as well as a video of himself engaging in a sexual act.

He asked “Amelia” for a picture of her private parts, but she said that she had been told at school that she would “get in trouble” for something like that.

Williams was confronted by hunters the next day and arrested by police. He gave a “no comment” interview to officers.

Williams, of Wayside, Woodside, Telford, pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and attempting to cause a child under the age of 15 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity. He has no previous convictions.

Robert Edwards, mitigating, said that Williams is “socially awkward”, lives a “socially isolated existence” and has shown “autistic traits”.

“His friends are people he interacts with while gaming on the internet,” Mr Edwards said.

Mr Edwards suggested that Williams did not appear to have seeked out an underage girl, and that it may have been a case of him feeling “more confident” speaking to younger people than adults.

“The offending came during a very difficult time in his life,” said Mr Edwards. “He was homeless.

“He didn’t think of the consequences.”

Judge Anthony Lowe told Williams: “It really is difficult in this case to determine what the motivation was, given the potential diagnosis of ASD (autistic spectrum disorder).

“You have all the hallmarks of someone who is socially isolated and awkward. If you remain in your room, on your computer, that is going to remain.

“I don’t know if your motivation was to have sex with a 13-year-old or just sex with somebody.

“She told you she was 13. The alarm bells should have been ringing.

“Sending a video of yourself m********ing to a 13-year-old is really quite disturbing.

“I think it was more motivated by social awkwardness than a desire to have sex with a 13-year-old.”

The judge handed Williams a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered him to do 20 rehabilitation activity days.

Williams must also sign onto the sex offenders register for the next 10 years and was made subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the same time frame.

Williams’ father was in court and Judge Lowe addressed him, saying: “Somehow or other he needs to get out. I know it’s easy for me to say - I don’t have ASD or the problems he has.

“This problem is not going to be solved by staying at home.”

Addressing Williams again, the judge added: “That’s what you need to do. You probably think you’re rubbish at it, but you need to get out there and do it. That, I think, is going to make a lot of difference to your life.”