Romsey pensioner Jeremy Hughes caught trying to meet 13-year-old boy for sexual activity at Bolton’s Bench in Lyndhurst

A pensioner who thought he was meeting a 13-year-old boy for sexual activity at a New Forest beauty spot was instead confronted by police.

Jeremy Hughes (69) believed he was talking with a 13-year-old online when he arranged the meeting at Bolton’s Bench in Lyndhurst, – but it was in fact a police officer, Southampton Crown Court heard.

Hughes, of Halterworth Close in Romsey, initially engaged with the profile of the fake 13-year-old from Lyndhurst in October 2023.

Prosecutor Gaylene Coles told the court that Hughes was asked how old he was, to which he replied “50 plus”, and the decoy told him he was “nearly 14”.

Although Hughes initially replied and stated he was too young, and that he thought he was 18, they resumed contact, and by November the conversation had become sexual, she said.

They also discussed meeting up, and Hughes was reminded of the boy’s age.

Asking him if he would be happy to be kissed, Hughes told him: “Perhaps [I will] start my way at the top and work down”.

They arranged to meet on 12th December of that year at Bolton’s Bench, but on arrival Hughes was greeted by police.

Ms Coles said that in interview Hughes “made admissions” but added his guilty plea was on the basis that any sexual contact would have only involved kissing and touching genitals, and nothing more.

Defending, Berenice Mulvanny told the court Hughes had co-operated with police, and voluntarily gave officers his mobile phone pass code, adding: “This was a one-off. There was no evidence of any other chats with anyone under 18.”

He had shown significant remorse, she said, adding since his arrest he had undergone counselling and taken “genuine steps” to address his behaviour.

“For a man of his age – a hard-working family man who spent 30 years working for the Ministry of Defence – this is a fall from grace.

“He is extremely frightened about the prospect of custody, but Mr Hughes is not a man who needs to go immediately to custody today.”

Ms Mulvanny added Hughes had been affected by the Covid-19 lockdown, which “triggered a decline in his mental health and made him behave in a way he never had before”.

“He fell into a trap of thinking – like many do – that what was online was not real. Mr Hughes is struggling with the idea he was capable of doing something like that.

“He has tried to gain insight into his behaviour – there has been a lot of self reflection over the last 18 months. This was just a blip, a one-off.”

Hughes pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing of arranging the commission of a child sex offence.

Handing him a 24-month prison term, suspended for the same length, Judge Nigel Peters KC told him: “One of the wonders of the modern world – but also a horror of the modern world – is social media and the ability to contact people 24/7 across the world.

“There is an overabundance of this sort of crime [online] and the only way sometimes is for the police to ferret out people like yourself.”

He noted Hughes had lived “an unblemished life” prior to the offence and that his wife – “to her credit” – was standing by him.

He added: “I am just persuaded in this case that I can suspend an otherwise immediate term imprisonment.”

Hughes will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years. He must also undertake 40 rehabilitation sessions and pay costs of £1,200.