Newcastle deviant cabbie spoke to "schoolboy" about a taxi ride in exchange for sexual favourshttps://uk.news.yahoo.com/newcastle-dev ... 21930.html
A deviant cabbie who spoke to a "schoolboy" about a taxi ride in exchange for sexual favours has been spared jail. An undercover police officer set up an account purporting to be a child on Snapchat and David Richardson ended up on communication with the profile in May this year.
Richardson was told the "boy" was was a 14-year-old schoolboy but sent him an image of himself in underwear, inquiring whether anyone else could see his phone. He then sent an indecent image.
When asked what he was thinking about, he said he was thinking about picking up the teenager from school. There was reference to sexual activity and he sent a further indecent images.
He also asked the schoolboy to send him images and John Crawford, prosecuting, said: "They spoke about the officer paying for a taxi ride with the defendant in exchange for sexual favours."
Further sexual images were sent by Richardson. He was identified partly as a result of the fact parts of his room and his trainers were visible in the pictures.
Richardson, 31, of Wood Grove, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child to look at a sexual image. He was sentenced to 12 months suspended for two years and must sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.
Recorder Jonathan Sandiford KC said probation reports concluded Richardson has a "sexually deviant interest in children".
Richard Herrmann, defending, said he was depressed at the time. He added that he plans to work in e-commerce and not have any contact with children in the future, having lost his job as a taxi driver as a result of the offending.