Three men jailed for child sex offences after undercover online sting by South Yorkshire Police

Three child sex offenders have been jailed after a number of undercover police operations in South Yorkshire.

Andrew Spinks, 45, from Warmsworth in Doncaster, sent messages of a sexual nature to an online profile he believed belonged to a young girl.

Officers behind the fake profile executed a warrant at his address and he was arrested on 18 April.

He was jailed for 16 months earlier this month for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and for breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

A 33-year-old man was also jailed for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and attempting to cause a child under the age of 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity.

Timothy Newberry, of Reresby Park Close in Rotherham, also believed he was talking with a child online in June 2023. He was sentenced to three years and six months.

In Sheffield, 39-year-old Mark Priest, was jailed for three years and nine months for a number of offences, including three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

He was also convicted of three counts of attempting to cause a child aged under 13 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity, engaging in sexual communication with a child, inciting a child to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity, and inciting a child to engage in penetrative sexual activity.

Detective Constable Spencer Lodge said his officer worked over several months to collect the evidence to convict all three men.

"It is not always an easy job, but the protection of the young children who could fall victim to these predators if they are not caught always remains at the forefront of our minds."