John Watton (Image: North Wales Police)
Last Updated: 3 minutes ago
A 52-year-old man has been sentenced to 16 months in prison after sending sexually explicit messages and an indecent image of himself to a person he thought was a child.
John Watton, of Moorfields, Holway, Flintshire, appeared at Mold Crown Court on May 28, where he admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity. The offences took place between March 16 and March 27, 2025.
The conversations
Prosecutor Emmalyne Downing told the court that the profile Watton had been communicating with – called “Poppy” – was a decoy operated by anti-paedophile group Stop UK.
Watton added the profile on Facebook on March 23, 2025, and was told early on that the person was 10 years old. Although he acknowledged she was “too young”, he continued sending messages and began making sexual remarks.
Ms Downing said the exchanges escalated, with Watton describing sexual acts in graphic detail, asking for naked photographs, and encouraging phone calls while the decoy claimed to be in the bath. The conversation later moved to WhatsApp, where he persisted in requesting intimate images and also sent an indecent photograph of himself.
The decoy told Watton on several occasions that she felt uncomfortable and that she had never shown anyone her naked body before.
Confrontation and arrest
Members of Stop UK confronted Watton on March 27, 2025. Police subsequently arrived and arrested him.
On arrest, Watton said: “I don’t know, it wasn’t intentional. It was a whim. I can’t really explain it.”
During a police interview, he accepted that he had engaged in the conversations and admitted he had “overstepped the mark”.
Defence
Watton initially denied the charges, claiming he believed he had been speaking to a decoy rather than a real child. He later changed his pleas to guilty ahead of trial.
His barrister, John Wyn Williams, told the court that his client had previously been of good character and asked that the court take into account the fact no real child was involved. He also highlighted Watton’s health difficulties and invited the court to impose concurrent sentences.
Sentencing
Judge Gwyn Jones described the offending as serious and referred to a pre-sentence report which concluded that Watton had “limited insight” into his behaviour. The judge said the risk Watton posed could not be adequately managed in the community and that an immediate custodial sentence was unavoidable.
Both sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Watton was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years, alongside sex offender notification requirements for the same period. He was ordered to pay a surcharge of £187.
