Paedophile jailed for planning to rape children of woman he tried to groom

Christopher Brand, 62, from Birmingham, did not realise the woman he was 'grooming' was in fact a police officer in Wales who used his sleazy messages to build a case against him.

In June last year, the 62-year-old struck up a conversation over the internet with a woman he believed had young children.

Brand, who had previous convictions for arranging to meet a child for sexual activity and for possessing indecent images of children, discussed attending a location outside Birmingham over a weekend period, with the intention of raping both children.

The woman was actually an officer from Tarian, the southern Wales Regional Organised Crime Unit. They had been monitoring his online activities and after he engaged in communication with their officer, they got in touch with West Midlands Police.

West Midlands officers opened an investigation and arrested Brand on June 22 last year, recovering a phone that he had used to contact the officer. Brand was charged and remanded in custody until his trial in December 2023 at Birmingham Crown Court.

Brand was found guilty of two counts of attempting/facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, and for obscene publication. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with a further six on extended licence.

Detective Constable Simon Roberts from the West Midlands Major Crime Team said: “We’re grateful to our colleagues in the southern Wales Regional Organised Crime Unit for alerting us to Brand’s abhorrent activities.

"This was an excellent joint operation against a highly dangerous sexual predator. Although he was never in a position to carry out these appalling crimes, it was obvious from correspondence that he fully intended to and he has been deservedly locked up for a very long time.”

If you have been abused, or think you know someone who is being abused, visit west-midlands.police.uk/your-options/child-sexual-abuse to find out more about your options.