Paedophile back in prison for trying to abuse child

A convicted paedophile from Surrey has been sent back to prison after he made plans to meet a child to sexually abuse them.

Max Coughlin, 29, from Redhill, was imprisoned in 2014 for making and distributing indecent images of children.

In October 2021, following his release, police arrested Coughlin for breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and later found he had been trying to meet a child.

He was sentenced to six years in prison with a year on licence at Guildford Crown Court on Monday after being found guilty of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and having already pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children.

Officers from Surrey Police’s paedophile online investigation team received intelligence that Coughlin had been breaching his SHPO by using apps including Snapchat and then deleting them.

Police recovered 15 devices including phones and laptops from him which underwent extensive digital examination.

Coughlin was arrested for breaching his SHPO and facilitating the commission of a sexual offence after evidence showed he was making plans to meet a child for the purpose of sexually abusing them.

He pleaded guilty to making indecent images but not guilty to facilitating the commission of a child sex offence. He was found guilty after a trial in February.

The judge said that as well as the prison sentence, Coughlin would be subject to the Sexual Offences registration requirements indefinitely and have a Sexual Harm Prevention Order made on him indefinitely.

Det Sgt Ben Green said: “It was clear in this case that Coughlin had been using various tactics to try to cover up his digital footprint and was prepared to continue lying in the face of the evidence.

“The behaviour he was showing was predatory so I am extremely pleased with this outcome.”

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