A registered sex offender, Mark Lee, who engaged in online conversations with adolescent males in violation of a court order, has been incarcerated once more following a thorough investigation by his Offender Manager.
Mark Lee, born on January 23, 2003, residing on Greenbrow Road, has received a five-year prison sentence accompanied by an extended licence period. He has been permanently registered on the Sex Offenders Register, accompanied by an indeterminate Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Mark Lee’s victims informed him of their age being under 16, nevertheless he deliberately persisted in targeting minors in an online chatroom utilising a forbidden gadget.
Subsequent to his 2023 conviction for indecent image charges, for which he received a suspended sentence, Lee was restricted from contacting individuals under the age of 18 and barred from holding any photos of minors. He was also required to adhere to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. A case worker from our Sex Offender Management Unit performed weekly assessments on Mark Lee from that time onwards.
In 2022, Mark Lee initiated communication with a 13-year-old male. While utilising the chatroom application to communicate with this child, Lee compelled him to transmit explicit images. He additionally disbursed £1,200 to him in an attempt to incentivise the child to transmit more explicit photographs. The boy attempted to terminate his relationship with Mark Lee, perceiving that Lee was not the 17 years old he had initially claimed to be. In an effort to maintain communication with the youngster, Lee created an other social media account and impersonated his sister, asserting that he was a good brother and individual, so encouraging the boy to reinitiate contact with him.
Simultaneously, Mark Lee was conversing with another adolescent male in the same chatroom. It was revealed that Mark Lee employed age filters to exclusively target 13-year-old males while masquerading as a youngster himself.
He was initially apprehended in November 2023 by DC Dan Foy and subsequently released on bail pending further enquiries. Nevertheless, he maintained online communication and even saw one of the lads in February 2024.
Once further intelligence came to light, we swiftly arrested him in April 2024, after his Offender Manager was made aware of a report he had made about being a victim of fraud. He reported that he’d never been paid for a laptop he sold on Ebay, but of course we knew that he should not have had that device in the first place.
On arrest, his mobile phone was inspected and found to contain images showing young teenage boys. From this, officers were able to find his victims through detective work to trace the school uniforms on a UK database along with some conducting some investigations on the phone data.
He was subsequently charged with multiple sexual offences, including engaging in sexual communication with a child, cause or incite a boy age 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, possession of indecent images of children and meeting a young boy following grooming, as well as repeated breaches of a sexual harm prevention order.
Investigative assistant and case manager Orla Lynch, of GMP’s Sex Offender Management Unit, said: “We know by nature that many offenders can be extremely deceptive and take bigger and bigger risks over time to satisfy their own needs.
“Mark Lee had every opportunity to attempt rehabilitation back into society following his past conviction, but it is clear that he had complete disregard for the order placed on him, our team, and most importantly, the two teenage boys he abused. He shamelessly did everything he could to fulfil his abominable desires.
“As a unit, we have massively improved the way that we manage sex offenders in the community and in the last 12 months alone, have conducted over 4,000 visits on registered sex offenders. Whenever we become aware of breaches, as in this case, we make arrests quickly, and work closely with our criminal justice partners to ensure we bring as many offenders before the courts as possible.
“Officers and staff in our Sex Offender Management Unit conducted almost 10,000 visits in the last year alone, showing the team’s relentless commitment to ensuring the safer management of offenders.
“Mark Lee’s offending has been traumatising to his young victims, who have been supported throughout, and will now need to try move on with their lives after they have been turned upside down. He is a clear danger to society and this sentence today reflects this.
“Protecting children comes above all else, and we take no second chances when a breach is committed.”
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.