A CONVICTED paedophile who groomed a 15-year-old schoolboy for sex after befriending him on an internet social networking site has been locked up indefinitely.

Jane Hunt

A CONVICTED paedophile who groomed a 15-year-old schoolboy for sex after befriending him on an internet social networking site has been locked up indefinitely.

David Elliman, 27, had only been released from prison for earlier offences of child abuse three weeks before he posed as a 17-year-old youth and asked to be a friend of the schoolboy on his “Bebo” account, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

The following day Elliman had arranged to meet the boy at Ipswich Railway Station and had then taken him back to his hotel room and sexually assaulted him.

Elliman, who had been staying at the Station Hotel, Ipswich, admitted offences of sexual grooming and sexual assault.

Judge John Holt passed an indeterminate prison sentence on Elliman for public protection and said he would have to serve at least two years in prison before he could be considered for release by the parole board.

Sentencing Elliman the judge said he had groomed the boy by means of the Bebo social networking site on the internet.

He said it was clear from text messages seen by the police that Elliman intended that the meeting between him and the boy should be the first of several similar encounters.

He said Elliman had been jailed for 15 months in 2005 for three offences of sexual assault on boys aged 12 and 14 and for possessing indecent images of children.

He had been subject to an extended period of licence on his release and had subsequently been returned to prison for two breaches of his licence which arose out of him befriending a child and being seen near a children's play area.

Elliman had been released from prison on February 25 this year and the offences currently before the court had taken place three weeks later on March 14.

Judge Holt said a probation report on Elliman said there had been an escalation in the seriousness of his offending and considered that he posed a serious risk of causing harm to children in the community.

In addition to jailing Elliman the judge imposed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order restricting his future use of the internet and contact with children under 16.

He was also ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders' Register.

Patricia Doggett, prosecuting, said that after taking the boy to his hotel room Elliman had pushed the boy backwards on the bed before removing his jeans and underwear and performing a sex act on him.

Afterwards the boy had caught a bus home and had later been contacted by Elliman on MSN asking him if he had enjoyed himself and asking if would like to do it again, said Miss Doggett.

Thereafter there had been some communication between Elliman and the boy concerning a jacket the boy wanted Elliman to buy him because he thought he had been “used” by him.

Roger Thomson for Elliman said his client's previous offending clearly aggravated the current offences.

He said that Elliman hadn't restrained the boy.