'Predatory paedophile' who sent 250,000 messages to boys jailed
- Published
Delaney sent messages to boys in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire
A "predatory paedophile" who messaged boys 250,000 times and was caught with a teenager in his car has been jailed.
Nigel Delaney, 65, of New North Road, Huddersfield, was arrested in April 2016 after being found on the M65 with the 15-year-old boy from Accrington.
Police discovered he had contacted boys in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.
He admitted 27 child sex offences at Burnley Crown Court and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Following his arrest, police found Delaney had breached a 2015 Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which banned him from contacting children under the age of 17.
Two 13-year-old boys, both from Leyland, then reported to police that they had been contacted online and via text messages by an unknown man.
A photo of the man revealed it was Delaney.
'Depraved'
In court, he admitted 27 offences that took place between November 2015 and April 2016, including:
Breaching an SHPO
Attempting to pay for the sexual services of a child
Attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming
Causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity
Arranging or facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child, making indecent images of a child
Possession of indecent images of a child
Distributing indecent images of a child
Failure to comply with notification requirements
He must serve a minimum of eight years in prison and was ordered to sign the sex offenders register be subject to an indefinite SHPO.
Det Con Wendy Potter said Delaney "relentlessly" pursued victims for his own "depraved gratification".
She added that he was "an extremely dangerous and predatory paedophile" and credit must be given to his victims, "who showed great bravery in helping provide evidence".