Sex offender Danny Westfall, of Essex, was sentenced on the 15th of March to 9 years and 3 months of imprisonment, placed on the sex offenders register for life, and given a 15 year sexual harm prevention order after a group of convictions under sexual grooming of a child.
Danny Westfall attempted to arrange sexual activity with a 13 year old girl, sending her explicit photos of himself in the shower, asking for explicit photos in return, telling her that she was “sexy”, and telling her he wanted to do “naughty things” when they met.
He even went as far as to ask her about her masturbation experience.
Danny Westfall never knew that, actually, he was talking to a ‘decoy’ known as Penny Black of a non-governmental organisation called ‘Child Protection Awareness‘ that aims to safeguard minors online by gathering compelling evidence against those that commit sexual offences against children. The evidence they gather, is to some extent indisputable.
He was caught when he actually attended a meet he arranged in Essex, where he wanted to finally enact his sexual desires with the imaginary 13 year old girl.
However, instead of a 13 year old girl, there were officials of another organisation known as ‘Broken Dreams Awareness‘ who, under citizens arrest laws, detained him until the police arrived.
Mr Westfall has an extensive criminal history, including at-least 36 previous convictions for 70 offences. His criminal record includes robbery, assault, battery, offences of dishonesty, assaulting the police and breaches of court orders.
“Should he have been able to engage in a sexual relationship with a minor, the long-term psychological damage could have been immense.”
“The work of Broken Dreams Awareness, Child Protection Awareness, and similar safeguarding groups up and down the country are making an immeasurable difference to our society.”