Derby man who drove to Suffolk to meet boy, 11, jailed

David Murphy, 40, of Cavendish Street in Derby, has been sentenced to 12 years and eight months behind bars following the offence in 2021. 

An investigation into Murphy by the National Crime Agency found he had sent money to his victim after meeting him in person. 

Murphy drove to Suffolk to meet the boy (Image: National Crime Agency)

Officers spoke to the boy, who told them he met a man called 'Alex' from Derby in the spring of 2021. 

The conversation developed into WhatsApp exchanges, where Murphy sent intimate photos of himself and asked the boy to do the same. 

Later that year on June 1, Murphy drove to Suffolk and met the boy in a village. 

After they met, Murphy, who was previously jailed for two years in 2017 for distributing indecent images of children, took the victim to a wooded area and sexually assaulted him. 

Describing Murphy to officers, the boy was able to recall he had driven a car to the location with a logo on the side. 

Officers discovered the vehicle had been hired from a car club that Murphy belonged to.

Further investigations found Murphy used an Irish passport in the name of 'Alex McClean' to open a PayPal account.

Murphy was arrested by officers in March this year, when a specialist team carried out a search of his house. 

They found Irish passports placed behind a picture, one in the name of Murphy and another of McClean.

READ MORE: Ipswich Crown Court

They also found a bank card in name of McClean, two SIM cards hidden in an Oxo cube box and an Amazon Fire stick.

Possessing the passport and the bank card in a different name were breaches of his sex offenders register notification requirements.

Having unsupervised contact with the boy, and his failure to notify the police of the devices capable of storing data, also breached the sexual harm prevention orders he received for offences committed in 2012, where he was handed a suspended sentence after sexually assaulting a teenage boy, and 2017.

Appearing at Derby Crown Court on Friday, Murphy was sentenced to six years and eight months in jail, extended by six years for dangerousness. 

He was also placed on the sex offenders register for life and given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Murphy previously pleaded guilty on June 16 to inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity, meeting a boy under 16 following sexual grooming, four counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and three counts of failing to comply with sex offenders register notification requirements.

NCA operations manager Danielle Pownall said: “David Murphy took his time to groom a vulnerable child online and even offered money to meet him in person.

“The actions of Murphy, an unrepentant child sex offender, were premeditated and devious. 

“I would like to thank the young boy abused by Murphy for his bravery in speaking to us and helping to put a dangerous criminal behind bars.

“The NCA will continue to protect the public, particularly children, from the harm caused by online child sexual abuse.”