Child sex offender jailed

Samuel Netley, 32 was sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court

A child sex offender from Devon has been jailed. 

Samuel Netley, 32, was sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court recently after pleading guilty mid-trial to four counts of sexual activity with a child and breach of a sexual harm prevention order.

Mr Netley, who has resided at numerous addresses across Devon and Cornwall and has previously been convicted of child sex offences, was sentenced to an extended sentence of 10 years and eight months – five years eight months in prison and five years on extended licence.

He must also serve the sex offenders’ register for life. A restraining order was put in place to protect the victim.

The court heard how in 2019, police received a call from the victim’s mother, stating that her daughter, a teenage child under 16, had been abused by an older man after he befriended her on Snapchat.

Samuel Netley, who lied about his age, sent inappropriate pictures to the victim and went on to meet her in woods, where he committed the contact offences after pressurising her.

Mr Netley’s offending and grooming of the victim was uncovered following extensive examination of mobile phones.