Man who arranged to rape children at hotel is jailed

A man who arranged to meet and rape two children at a hotel has been jailed.

Christopher Hackett had been speaking to the ‘mother’ of the two children online arranging to meet up at a hotel in Alfreton so he could have sex with her 12-year-old ‘daughter’ and eight-year-old ‘son’. He sent explicit photos and described what he wanted to do to the children.

However, the person Hackett was actually speaking to was actually a police officer and when he arrived at the hotel for the meeting, he was instead arrested.

The 37-year-old had taken a number of items to the hotel including sweets, bottles of fizzy drinks and a bottle of lubrication.

Following his arrest, his mobile phone was seized and examined and found to contain thousands of indecent images and videos of children.

He was later charged with attempted sexual communication with a child, arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and possession of indecent images.

Hackett, of Town Lane, Rotherham, admitted the offences and appeared at Derby Crown Court on 12 November when he was jailed for seven and a half years with an extended four-year licence period for dangerousness. He was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

PC Jodie Norris, who led the investigation, said: “Hackett, who was already a registered sex offender when he committed this offence, clearly poses a serious danger to children and I am very pleased that his sentence reflects that danger.

“He spoke with a woman he thought was the mother of two children and arranged to meet her in order to rape the children, and it is clear from the messages he sent that he knew exactly what he was doing.

“Not only did he discuss his depraved fantasies but he also travelled to meet this ‘woman’ to carry out his despicable crime.

“I have no doubt that had he not been caught, he would have gone on to cause severe physical and psychological harm to children in the future.

“Thankfully in this case the children involved were not real but that in no way takes away from his intentions and clear danger."

To report or seek help about online sexual abuse, you can contact us in any of the following ways:

• Website– We have crime reporting tools on our website: use our online contact form
• Facebook– send us a private message to the Derbyshire Constabulary Facebook page
• X (Twitter) – direct message our contact centre via @DerPolContact
• Phone – call us on 101
• If you are in immediate danger and need and emergency response, always dial 999.

You can also anonymously contact the independent charity CrimeStoppers, on 0800 555 111, or by visiting the CrimeStoppers website.

There are also a number of other organisations who may be able to help with advice or alternative ways in which you can report. They are:

• Child Exploitation Online Protection command (CEOP) - http://ceop.police.uk/
• Internet Watch Foundation - https://www.iwf.org.uk/
• NSPCC Helplines: Anyone concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline for advice on 0808 8005000
• Get Safe Onlineprovide advice on staying safe online.

Thinkuknow: An education programme keeping children and young people safe by teaching about sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.