Predatory Darlington sex offender jailed for five years

Christopher Grundy, posting as Boylover44, was caught by an undercover police officer posing as a pervert with similar sexual interests.

The 52-year-old asked the officer to move onto an encrypted messaging service before sharing sickening descriptions of his sexual proclivities with him.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Grundy went on to sexually abuse a vulnerable 17-year-old while he was already on bail for downloading the child abuse images.

Rebecca Brown, prosecuting, said a further check of the defendant’s mobile phone recovered further child sex abuse images.

She said police officers also recovered extracts of conversations with other like-minded people where Grundy spoke off his sexual desires and asked for indecent images of children.

“During these chats he demonstrates a sexual interest in children,” she said.

In an impact statement made by the teenage victim, he spoke of how the assaults affected his mental health after Grundy informed other teenagers that he was lying about what had happened to him.

The defendant had claimed to police officers that he had been searching the internet for child abuse in an attempt to track down a person he alleged had sexually assaulted a relative.

Christopher Grundy (Image: Durham Constabulary)

Grundy, of Darlington, pleaded guilty to six charges of downloading child abuse images and one charge of downloading an extreme pornographic image involving an animal.

He was found guilty of three charges of sexual assault after he attacked on the teenager between October 28 and 31 last year following a trial.

The judge heard how the defendant had a previous conviction for sexual assault on a teenage boy dating back to the late 90s.

Dr Christopher Wood, representing Grundy, said the father-of-one was on lifelong medication to treat HIV and pointed out that his pre-sentence report had highlighted areas where work could be done with his client.

Judge Richard Bennett branded Grundy’s behaviour as ‘predatory’ as he jailed him for a total of five years for all offences.

“You were much older and he was encountering a number of difficulties in their life,” he said.

“You were aware of that and you were aware that he had a difficult relationship with his mother.

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“It is clear that you were sexually attracted to him and used their vulnerability to your advantage.”

Grundy was issued with an indefinite restraining order to protect the victim and ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register for life as well as being made subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Bennett added: “In a cynical attempt to get your defence in first, you spread lies about the victim among other teenagers, which resulted in him being threatened.

“I was able to observe the aggressive and angry side of your character when you were giving evidence – you have a short temper.”