Ex-Royal Marine, 73, claimed sexual chats he had with fake teen were no worse than would be taught in schools

An ex-Royal Marine commando who started having sexually-charged online conversations with a fake 13-year-old girl later claimed that their chats were no worse than what was taught in schools.

Retired lorry driver Frank Turner also pretended that he was gathering evidence before taking it to the police station and that he only asked the girl for explicit pictures so that he could be sure that she was definitely over the age of 18.

But it was clear “grooming” behaviour and he had previously been jailed for distributing sick images of children, Hull Crown Court heard.

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Turner, 73, of Tennyson Street, Goole, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and breaching a sexual harm prevention order between November 29 and January 16.

Benjamin Donnell, prosecuting, said that undercover police set up an online profile of a non-existent 13-year-old girl and Turner began exchanging messages with her.

The fake girl told him that she was only 13 but he continued the messages and they became highly sexualised. He asked a series of intimate questions about sexual matters, made explicit suggestions and asked if she wanted sexual pictures of him.

He told her that he would only do so if she promised him that she would not save them on her phone. He asked for intimate pictures of her but he was not sent any. “It was clear grooming behaviour,” said Mr Donnell.

In a later online conversation, Turner asked the decoy girl: “Have you been practising what I taught you?” He was arrested and material linking him to the conversations, including naked pictures of him, was found on his devices.

Turner later told police that he had no sexual interest in children. He claimed that he asked for photographs of the girl so that he could check that she was over 18 and, that if she was not, he would terminate the conversation.

He claimed that the conversations were no more than what would be taught in schools. “He said that he was doing this to gather evidence to take to the police station,” said Mr Donnell. Turner suggested that he was involved in “fantasy”.

He had convictions from 2017 for making and distributing hundreds of indecent images of children, including 132 in the most serious category, and possessing extreme pornography of bestiality. He had been jailed for 20 months and a sexual harm prevention order had been made.

During that hearing, the court was told that Turner, a former Royal Marine commando, claimed that he was lonely and was looking for a girlfriend. He shared images of children as young as two.

There was a risk of very serious sexual harm in the new offences, said Mr Donnell.

David Godfrey, mitigating, said that it was “quite troubling recent behaviour” but the conversations took place over a relatively short period of time. Turner had worked as a lorry driver for many years.

“He is somebody who has been quite isolated and that’s come through in his online activities,” said Mr Godfrey.

“He was living alone with his dog. He found some solace in the internet. There was not a victim but this was luck not judgement on his behalf.”

Judge Kate Rayfield said that Turner was told at a very early stage by the fake girl that she was aged 13 but he was “undeterred” and told her not to mention her age in messages.

“You quickly engaged her in sexual conversation, asking her about her own sexual experiences and asking her questions about what she had and hadn’t done,” said Judge Rayfield.

A sexual harm prevention order had been made in 2017. “This is a deliberate breach,” said Judge Rayfield. “There was a significant disparity in your respective ages. There was no harm, in fact, and this was attempted conduct. It was a deliberate breach of your order and there was certainly some risk.”

Turner was jailed for four years and one month and he was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order. He will have to register as a sex offender indefinitely.