August 2009

Bristol man’s web sex act in front of girls

A Bristol security guard who committed a sex act during a computer conversation with two 13-year-old girls has been jailed for nine months.

Bristol Crown Court yesterday heard Andrew Ridler was encouraged to expose himself by the youngsters and, when he did, they used a screen saver shot to capture the image and send it to a mobile phone.

Later one of the girls told her teacher and showed them the picture, which led to the police being called.

Ridler, 27, of Farley Close, Little Stoke, pleaded guilty to engaging in a sex act in the presence of a child.

Imposing sentence, Judge Michael Roach told him: “Though it’s been said that the girls encouraged you, I make it plain to you that I don’t regard that encouragement as any form of mitigation.

“They were 13, you were 27. You were appreciably older. Children of that age need protection from themselves.”

Ridler was handed a five-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order and told to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

As she left court, a distraught member of his family party sobbed: “You should put criminals down, not him.”

Giles Nelson, defending, told the court his client had complied with the girls’ request and had been sexually aroused.

He said: “Mr Ridler is not an out-and-out paedophile. He has to deal with why he exposed himself to two young girls.”