Young Predator Locked Up for Online Abuse of Girls
A 23-year-old man from Congleton has been jailed for sexually abusing young girls online. James Lawton, formerly of Mill Street, was sentenced to three years and four months behind bars at Chester Crown Court on Friday, 9 January.
Shocking List of Horrific Crimes
Lawton admitted a string of vile offences, including:
- Causing a child to view sexual images
- Possessing indecent images of children
- Engaging in sexual communication with minors (two counts)
- Making indecent images of children (three counts)
- Possessing extreme pornography
- Inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity
He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life and given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
Disturbing Police Investigation Uncovers Horrors
The chilling probe began in January 2025 after Cheshire Police uncovered intelligence that Lawton was sexually communicating with a child online. Officers raided his Crewe home and seized multiple electronic devices.
During the investigation, police revealed Lawton solicited explicit images from a 12-year-old girl. He lied about his age, claiming to be 15, sent sexual photos and videos of himself, and pressured her to send indecent images back.
Even darker, he requested indecent images from a 9-year-old girl in Nottingham. Analysis of his devices found 368 indecent images and videos of children, with over 129 classified as the most serious category A.
Police Slam Sick Online Predator
“Lawton is clearly a dangerous and predatory individual who was intent on engaging with young girls online for his own perverse sexual gratification, despite knowing full well that they were underage,” said Detective Constable Phil Limberg of Cheshire Police’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team. “Thankfully he has been given a substantial prison sentence and can no longer pose a threat to young girls.”
