Chatroom paedophile jailed

A paedophile believed to be one of the world's most prolific internet groomers has been sentenced today to five years in prison.

Douglas Lindsell, 64, of Fortescue Avenue, Twickenham, south west London, was found with a hand-written sexual profile of 54 youngsters from the UK and 19 from abroad.

The former postal worker bombarded some of the girls, aged as young as 13, with up to 100 phone calls after befriending them on the internet.

One of his victims, a 14-year-old girl told today how Lindsell tried to groom her on the internet by telling her he had cancer.

Lindsell pretended to be a teenager and tried to set up a meeting with the girl, who was 13 at the time, after meeting her in a chatroom.

He first tried to get her to telephone him and said if she found his voice odd it was because he was on cancer drugs.

Lindsell also pestered her into telling him what her school uniform looked like, and from that information he was able to find the school's website and look at maps of how to get there.

Judge Richard McGregor-Johnson told Lindsell, who was dressed in a green polo shirt and dark trousers: "Your actions stem from your own decisions and your own desires."

He said: "Your obsession with young girls is a sexual obsession linked to an obsession about rape. I do not accept your actions were actions of dirty talking."

Police appeal

Outside court, police urged anyone who believed they had encountered Lindsell in a chatroom to contact them.

Pc Mick White, of Twickenham's public protection unit, said: "Lindsell posed as a teenager in Internet chatrooms where he compiled sexual profiles on over 20 young girls UK-wide.

"He contacted them regularly by Internet, phone and text messaging.

"His contacts with the girls were overtly sexual in nature and he continually tried to get them to meet him.

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