Ipswich man, 45, jailed for over two-and-a-half years for sexual communication with child

A man from Ipswich has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for sexual communication with a 13-year-old girl.

Jonathan Baigent, 45, of Fore Hamlet, was sentenced in Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday.

He plead guilty to the charge of sexual communication with a child and two breaches of Sexual Harm Prevention Orders.

In 2020, the mother of the girl reported that her daughter had received sexually explicit images from a man on Instagram.

Baigent was pretending to be a 38-year-old man from Portsmouth.

Officers tracked him down in Ipswich, where he was subsequently arrested and charged.

Detective Superintendent David Giles said: "A clear and blatant disregard was demonstrated by Baigent with regards to his Sexual Harm Prevention Order as well as the abhorrent behaviour preying on a teenage girl."

He paid tribute to a public protection officer who worked tirelessly to pursue Baigent over the last two years.

He added: "This outcome can reassure the public that we take such allegations of online predatory behaviour on the young and vulnerable extremely seriously and work to safeguard victims as quickly as possible.

"I hope the public are reassured of the police stance when it comes to the breach of SHPOs and we will do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice."