Social media 'predator' who preyed on girl jailed

A man who travelled to Grimsby to sexually abuse a young girl has been jailed.

Christian Sollitt, 46, was described by Humberside Police as a "social media predator" after manipulating his victim and bombarding her with thousands of emails and phone calls.

In October, a jury found him guilty of 13 sexual offences following an 11-day trial at Grimsby Crown Court.

On Friday, Sollitt, of Keighley, West Yorkshire, appeared at the same court where he was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison, with an additional extended term of 18 months on licence and placed on the sex offenders register for life.

In addition, Sollitt was made the subject of a 15-year sexual harm prevention order and a 15-year restraining order.

Sollitt was convicted of six counts of sexual activity with a child,three counts of making indecent photographs of children,sexual communications with a child, meeting a child following grooming,possession of extreme pornographic images and possession of a prohibited image of a child.

After sentencing, Det Sgt Sacha Harvey, who led the investigation, said Sollitt came to the attention of police following a report in July 2018 of him communicating with a young girl, and of him meeting up with her on a frequent basis for sexual intercourse.

Despite a child abduction notice being served warning him not to contact the child, Sollitt continued to communicate with her for his own "perverted sexual gain", the detective said.

"The young girl in this case was manipulated by Sollitt into sending explicit images and he arranged to pick her up from school and take her to secluded locations in Grimsby to engage in sexual activity," she added.

She said Sollitt had initially denied knowing the age of the victim, but after accepting he knew her age had continued to try and contact her to "declare his love and feelings to her".

"The child, who is now an adult, has waited patiently for this to be heard at court in order to protect others from him," Det Sgt Harvey said.

During the investigation, police found pornographic images and videos of multiple children, including very young children, on a tablet and other digital equipment belonging to Sollitt.

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