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A sex offender from the Manchester region who went missing before he was sentenced has been jailed.
Anthony Paul Devlin, 26, was convicted of grooming in August 2006 at Liverpool Crown Court, but fled to Hanoi in Vietnam shortly after.
Devlin made contact with his 14-year-old victim on an internet chatroom at the beginning of 2004. They exchanged phone numbers and sent each other text messages until May that year, when they agreed to meet.
The girl initially told Devlin she was 16, but admitted she was 14 upon their first meeting in Bolton. Knowing her true age, Devlin kissed her and arranged a second meeting in September.
Contact continued until the victim's mother discovered she had been texting the offender and confiscated her phone. Realising her mobile had been taken, Devlin gave her another so they could keep in touch.
The girl's mother contacted police in December 2004 when she found out that the two were still in contact.
Devlin was due to appear in court in August 2006, but did not attend. An investigation to trace his whereabouts was launched by GMP’s Sex Offender Management Unit and SOCA. It was discovered that he held bank accounts in Vietnam and was using them.
The Vietnamese authorities were contacted and Devlin was found in the capital city of Hanoi. He was deported in March this year and arrested at Gatwick airport.
Devlin has been sentenced to 21 months in jail and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for ten years.
Detective Inspector Debbie Conlon Houldershaw from the Sex Offender Management Unit said: “The day Devlin went missing, the investigating officer worked tirelessly trying to locating him. These enquiries continued over a long period of time. Thankfully, after working alongside our colleagues at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and SOCA, intelligence was received he was in Vietnam and we were able to bring him back to the UK to face justice.
“He preyed on the victim’s vulnerability and he knew his victim was underage but continued to keep in contact in his attempts to groom her.
"I would urge parents and children to take steps to ensure their safety on the internet, particularly with the use of MSN and other chat networks. A number of instant messaging and social networking sites now have access to an emergency internet safety button which takes users to CEOP, where suspicious behaviour can be reported."
