A man who arranged to meet a 12-year-old girl in Lancashire over TikTok before going on to rape her has been jailed.
Paedophile Gary Sheilds, 37, lived in Scotland at the time of the offence, January 2024, but arranged to meet the girl who lived in Penwortham when he contacted her over the message function on TikTok.
Sheilds complimented the victim and they swapped numbers and continued to communicate through WhatsApp, Snapchat, and video calls.
The messages were reported by the girl's parents when they found them on her phone.
Sheilds was arrested and whilst he admitted to conversing with the girl online, he denied raping or sexually assaulting her.
When asked if he knew how old the victim was, Sheilds said he could not remember, but that he knew she was young.
When asked if he knew the victim was wearing her school uniform at the time they met, he said he thought so.
Throughout his interview, Sheilds blamed a drug addiction for his behaviour. When asked if he was sexually attracted to children during his drug addiction, he said: 'Could be.'
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At the time of the offence, he was on bail by Police Scotland with conditions to not have contact with anyone under the age of 16.
DS Jenny Cobham of Preston Child Protection team said: “Gary Sheilds is a despicable, perverted individual.
"Despite saying he couldn’t remember his victim’s age, he was well aware that she was a child and still chose to prey on her.
“Despite her young age, the victim has shown an incredible resilience throughout proceedings, and I can only commend her for her bravery.
"I hope the knowledge that Sheilds is now serving a significant prison sentence will allow her to begin to move forward.
“These types of crimes will never be ok. We are committed to preventing it and bringing anyone responsible to justice.
“If you, or someone you know, is a victim of any sexual offence, I want you to know that we will listen to you, we will investigate appropriately and we will do all we can to get you justice.”
Examination of his devices found images of the victim and Google searches, including the name of the victim's school.
Sheilds, of no fixed address, was charged with the rape of a girl under 13 and causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
He pleaded Guilty at Preston Crown Court on July 16, where he was later sentenced, earlier this month on November 3 to nine years imprisonment with an extended licence period of one year.
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