FULL STORY: Paedophile ex-deputy mayor sentenced to prison
A LEADING councillor and former deputy mayor who tried to groom a 13-year-old for sex in an internet chatroom has been jailed for eight months.
Shamed Morris Lightfoot, 56, a married dad-of-two, made vile suggestions to the girl named 'Tina,' pestered her to visit him so he could "abuse" her and sent her naked pictures of himself as he begged to take her virginity.
He also gave her his mobile phone number via networking website 'Zorpia' using the name 'Moozzaa' - but he was unaware he was actually conversing with site moderator Tony Graves who had become suspicious by Lightfoot's seedy cyberspace behaviour and posed as an innocent teen.
Beach
When he realised he had been trapped, the night-shift factory worker deleted the incriminating conversations and fled to Spain, spending three days sleeping on a beach before returning home to Harrogate and giving himself up.
Sentencing at York Crown Court, Judge Peter Benson said:
"You went on an internet chat site and your conduct on it was such you
attracted the attention of a responsible proprietor of that site.
"He looked closely at what you were up to and adopted the persona of a
13-year-old girl. You began to chat to her, and from the outset your comments were of an explicitly sexual nature.
"It came to a point where you proposed you would arrange a meeting and take her virginity. Had it not been for the responsible actions of Mr Graves you might have got in touch with a real 13-year-old girl and that could have led to serious sexual offending on your part."
16-year-old
He was placed on the sex offenders' register and banned from working with children - but despite this the Liberal Democrat has defied calls to leave his post.
It was also revealed in court that Lightfoot claimed to have had sex with a 16-year-old girl just two years ago.
Prosecuting, Nick Worsley said that in August 2007 Lightfoot joined the
'Zorpia' and 'LooksLikeMe' chatrooms under the premise of researching
anti-social behaviour among youngsters - but he immediately began making sexual comments which alerted moderators.
He said: "Tony Graves became concerned by his behaviour and decided to pose as 'Tina', a 13-year-old virgin from London. The defendant reacted entirely inappropriately.
Webcam
"He asked her to describe her body and said he was getting horny. He asked if she was free during the week so he could come down and abuse her. He encouraged her to set up a webcam and send pictures of herself."
Lightfoot's account was closed, but just days later he opened another and began making further lewd comments to 'Tina.'
Mr Worsley added: "He asked if she wanted to have sex with him. He gave her his mobile number and said he'd not had sex with a 13-year-old girl before. The youngest girl he had slept with was aged 16 a year ago.
"He asked when she was coming up to Harrogate, and said he would like to explore her, see her naked and teach her sex."After police were called, Lightfoot made his bizarre trip to Spain but returned claiming he had joined the chatroom to see "what young people were thinking, tell me why they behave anti-socially."
He had also deleted the online chats - but experts were able to recover
fragments and he subsequently admitted three charges of attempting to engage in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl.
When the offences emerged, he left his post of deputy mayor of
Harrogate but remains the representative for Bilton on Harrogate Council, and Bilton and Nidd Gorge on North Yorkshire County Council.
Banned
Defending, Christopher Barnett said that Lightfoot, who has been married for 30 years and has two adult sons, has been left a broken man after the scandal came to light.
He added: "He has a deep and lasting sense of shame and concedes he has
breached the trust of public office. His life as a respected and decent citizen is effectively over."
Lightfoot was disqualified from working with children indefinitely and banned from communicating either verbally or electronically with children. He will serve half of his eight-month sentence before being released on licence.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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