Lincoln man named and shamed as he is jailed for trying to groom girl, 12


A Lincoln man who groomed what he thought was a 12-year-old girl has been jailed for two years at Lincoln Crown Court.
Ashleigh Buttery first encountered what he believed to be a young girl called Vicky in an internet chat room.
The court heard that the man did not take long to turn their chats into sexual conversations.
He also sent her an indecent video of himself and arranged to meet her.
When Buttery turned up to the agreed location, he was caught in a ‘honeytrap’ and the person he believed was a 12-year-old girl was an adult woman posing as a child to trap internet paedophiles.
He was filmed by the group, who confronted him and police were called to arrest the man.
A video of him being confronted was later posted on Facebook by the group.
The 24-year-old appeared at Lincoln Crown Court on Wednesday, December 5.
Buttery, of St Catherine’s Grove, Lincoln denied the charges, including attempting to meet a child after grooming and attempting to incite a child to commit a sexual act – but the jury found him guilty.
Buttery was jailed for two years and was handed a 10 year sexual harm prevention order.
The 24-year-old was also placed on a sex offenders’ register for 10 years and barred from working with children.
Recorder Balraj Bhatia, passing sentence, told him: “You made it plain that your passion, which was almost an obsession, was to spend time on the internet in different chat rooms and on social media.
“Vicky Payne, the complainant who was supposed to be 12-years-old, did not exist. She was created as a honey trap.
“You very quickly moved on to sexual conversations with a person you believed to be a 12 year old. That is the worrying aspect of this case.
“I take the view that the offences are so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence is appropriate.”