Child sex offender went to meet 'girl' at McDonald's

Ryan Lee James Highfield, 37, arranged to meet a ’13-year-old girl’ at McDonald’s in Boscombe.

Highfield had actually been sending messages and making arrangements with an account operated by an adult posing as the teenager.

The defendant was stopped by members of the sting group at the fast-food restaurant in Christchurch Road on the evening of October 27, 2022, before being arrested by police.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard he was released under investigation and went on to arrange and meet a decoy pretending to be an 11 or 12-year-old girl at Pokesdown Railway Station on November 20 last year.

Highfield was again met by paedophile hunters and arrested by police, who were aware of the defendant communicating with a ‘girl’ profile run up by a third vigilante organisation.

In total the defendant messaged five ‘girls’, often using the same opening line of “hey, you are stunning”, between August and November.

At the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, May 23, Judge William Mousley KC told Highfield: “You are a high risk to females and in particular to female children.”

The judge said he was satisfied the defendant was a dangerous offender due to the crimes he was being sentenced for, his previous convictions, the contents of a pre-sentence report and his medical records.

In law, dangerous offenders are people who pose a significant risk of serious harm to the public by the commission of further specified offences. They are made subject to extended licence conditions on top of their custodial sentence.

Ryan Highfield (Image: Dorset Police)

Prosecuting, Stuart Ellacott told the court the defendant had 13 previous convictions for 26 offences dating back to 2000.

Highfield had been subject to a sexual offences prevention order since 2012 after being convicted of sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl and arranging to meet a 13-year-old girl following sexual grooming.

Mr Ellacott detailed some of the messages the defendant sent to the ‘girls’ in his recent offending.

This included him writing “if only you were older”. When asked why by the ‘child’, he said “because I would love to **** you”.

The court heard the age the decoys purported to be was made clear to the defendant during the communication.

Pokesdown Railway Station (Image: Newsquest)

In one conversation, he wrote: “I bet you look well sexy in your uniform.”

The defendant indicated he wanted to have penetrative sexual activity with several of the ‘girls’ he was messaging.

Highfield sent a pornographic video and an indecent photograph of himself and invited a ‘child’ to come to his flat.

The offender also asked one of them to send a picture of themselves back to him and to perform a sex act on herself.

“None of these children were real children,” the judge said. “They were adults posing as children.

“Adults attempting to discover and lead to the apprehension of people considered to be paedophiles.”

Highfield, previously of Haviland Road East, Bournemouth, pleaded guilty to five counts of attempted sexual communications with a child, one count of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, one count of arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence, one count of attempting to cause of incite a child to engage in sexual activity, one count of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and five counts of breaching a sexual offences prevention order.

Mitigating, Nick Robinson said the offending was unsophisticated with Highfield messaging using his real name and photograph on his profile.

The defendant had experienced trauma in his childhood and was placed in care from the age of six, the barrister said.

“Every day in prison may well be much more difficult for him than the average offender,” Mr Robinson said.

Highfield, who has learning disabilities, “acted out his impulse” by arranging the meetings, Mr Robinson said.

He added: “He is at his computer and he has a complete lack of consequential thinking, as many offenders do.”

Judge Mousley KC sentenced Highfield to eight years imprisonment, with a three-year extended licence period.

The defendant will not be considered for release by the parole board until he has served five years and four months behind bars.

He was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and placed on the sex offenders register. Both of these measures were imposed indefinitely.

Detective Constable Matt Loader, of Dorset Police’s paedophile online investigation team (POLIT), said: “Ryan Highfield is a repeat offender whose behaviour clearly indicates he had the intention of committing sexual offences involving children and he posed a threat to vulnerable young people.

“We have worked hard to compile evidence in this case and our detailed investigation has helped to ensure that Highfield now faces a significant period behind bars.”