A 27-year-old former primary  school teacher and scout leader has been jailed after bing caught having a sexual conversation with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl. Samuel Robinson made contact with the person, who turned out to be a decoy from an online child activist group, through social media chat platforms.

The decoy repeatedly told Robinson they were 13-years-old during their communication between Friday, April, 7 and Tuesday, April 11, 2023 but Robinson continued with the sexual conversation. Robinson was arrested after the activist group visited his home on the evening of April 11.

His electronic devices were seized, and examination of his Snapchat account found he had also communicated with a 15-year-old girl between May 2021 and June 2022. The conversation was sexual, and Robinson offered to send inappropriate pictures of himself.

On Wednesday, October 2, at Cambridge Crown Court, Robinson, of Butt Lane, Milton, was jailed for two years and 10 months, having pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual communication with a child, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a girl to engage in sexual activity.

DC Caroline Murphy said the offences had no connection with Robinson’s teaching or his role as a scout leader. She said: “Robinson was well aware of the obligation we all have to protecting young people so to contact what he believed were children in this way and engage them in grossly inappropriate conversation was appalling. This case shows the seriousness with which we take protecting children from harm.”

For more on child abuse, including the signs and how to report it, please visit the dedicated section of the force website.