Mark Pegram, 65, from Enfield, North London, has been sentenced to 48 months in prison for attempting to sexually abuse a child in Chippenham. He pleaded guilty to the commission of a child sex offence and possessing indecent images of a child following a sting operation conducted by Wiltshire Police and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU).
Pegram engaged in explicit online conversations before traveling to meet who he believed was a child for the purpose of committing sexual abuse. Upon his arrival in Chippenham on November 13, 2021, he was promptly arrested by Wiltshire Police officers.
Initially denying any intention to carry out sexual acts on the child, Pegram eventually changed his plea to guilty during the trial. In addition to his prison sentence, he is required to register with the police indefinitely under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, has been given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and has been ordered to pay a £156 surcharge.
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Detective Constable Kerry Foster emphasized the distressing nature of the case for the jury, who had to review graphic messages and recordings depicting Pegram’s intended sexual acts with the child. Foster urged anyone with suspicions of child sexual exploitation to report it promptly.
DI David Wells, from the Online Investigations Team at SWROCU, stressed the importance of identifying and stopping offenders who use the internet to groom and exploit children. He encouraged the public to report any concerns about child exploitation online to the police.