A Scout leader has been placed on the sex offenders register for five years after using Facebook to make sexual advances towards young boys. Christopher Pimm has also been handed a three year community order. In sentencing Mr Pimm at at Basildon Crown Court, Judge William Graham stated that Pimm’s crimes were made more serious due to his “persistence’.

Pimm, who is 24 and is a trainee teacher, was caught by the father of a 15 year old boy who had been monitoring the messages sent to his son by Pimm on Facebook. The father allowed the messages to continue after being concerned about Pimm’s predatory nature and this gave police enough evidence to ultimately arrest Pimm. The arrest led to the discovery of similar approaches towards another two boys aged 13 and 14.

Pimm went on to admit seven child sex offences. He had sent links to pornographic material to the boys and had asked them about their sexuality whilst making suggestions of a sexual nature. The severity of the case was confirmed when police seized Pimm’s personal computer and discovered over 850 pornographic photographs and videos of boys aged between 8 and 15. Pimm has now been prevented from using the internet without being stringently monitored.

This case highlights how the increase in the use of social media allows paedophiles to easily contact potential victims. In this case Pimm had added the boys as friends on Facebook before sending them private messages.

This is an example of an individual using his position of trust to groom young boys. Pimm had been entrusted with the role of looking after young scouts and was also a trainee teacher. The Scout Association has condemned the actions of Pimm and confirmed that he will never be able to work with the Scout Movement again.

Here at Farleys we are currently representing a number of individuals who have been abused by scout leaders. We have a proven track record of making successful compensation claims for child abuse, even when the abuse took place several years, or even decades, ago. If you have suffered abuse at the hands of a scout leader, teacher, or indeed any individual, do not hesitate to contact one of our specialist sexual abuse solicitors.