Saxilby man who sent teen girl indecent images is jailed

A 37-year-old man who sent sexually explicit pictures to a 13-year-old while posing as a teenager has been jailed for two years and eight months.

Karl Abbott, of Blades Drive in Saxilby, posed as a 15-year-old boy to build a relationship with his victim before sending indecent images and requesting pictures of the same nature in return.

He was subsequently arrested by Lincolnshire Police and digital devices were seized from his home back in October 2022.

Abbott wouldn’t cooperate, refusing to surrender the information required to allow investigators to access his machines.

During the course of the investigation Abbot, who ran photography firm PRINTSMAZING, also changed his name to James Smith.

The force’s Digital Forensics Unit spent 12 months exploring ways to break into the devices before they succeeded – discovering a stash of illegal images.

Abbott pleaded guilty to five charges at court, including the possession of indecent images of categories A, B and C, sexual communication with a child and inciting a child into pornography.

He was jailed when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court today, Thursday, 27 February, where he was also placed on the sexual offenders’ register and served a sexual harm prevention order.

The result brings a lengthy investigation to a close, which saw officers and staff from Lincolnshire Police work together to bring Abbot to justice.

Detective Constable Warwick Taylor paid tribute to those who helped bring the case to fruition and hopes the result will bring some sense of closure to his victim.

“Children are often the most vulnerable people in our society and Abbott chose to abuse the trust placed in him by a young child,” DC Taylor said.

“His actions have no place in our county or our society at large and we hope this sends a strong warning to any would-be offenders – this behaviour will not be tolerated.

“I hope this result goes some way to bringing the case to a close in the mind of the victim though it may take longer yet before they can truly move on.

“And finally I’d like to thank everyone worked on this investigation. Without their teamwork we wouldn’t be here today.”

If you’ve been the victim of rape or sexual assault, please report it to us as soon as possible.

Even if you’re not 100 per cent sure, we want to hear from you so that we can make sure you’re safe.

If you’re not ready to talk to the police just yet, that’s OK.

Follow this link here - Support for victims of rape and sexual assault | Lincolnshire Police (lincs.police.uk) to find out what other organisations can help and support you.

You can report a rape and sexual assault here - How to report rape and sexual assault | Lincolnshire Police (lincs.police.uk)