A FORMER parish councillor who used Snapchat to send porn videos to what he thought was a teenage boy has been placed on the sex offenders' register.

Vincent Lungley, who previously served on Ramsey and Parkeston Parish Council, believed he was communicating with a 14-year-old called Otis in December 2022 when he was in fact talking to an undercover police officer.

Using Snapchat and Chat Avenue, Lungley – who formerly worked for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service – asked the decoy account if they had watched pornography and sent a message reading: “I have a porn link you might like."

Sentence – Vincent Lungley avoided jailSentence – Vincent Lungley avoided jail (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

Lungley, now 64, proceeded to send four sexual videos and an obscene image of himself, Chelmsford Crown Court heard on Wednesday.

John Livingston, prosecuting, said: “On the face of it, had this not been a decoy case, there would have been a 40-year age gap between the two.”

Her Honour Judge Mary Loram KC said: “The tenor and overwhelming theme of his contact with someone he believes is 14 is the sending of four video clips – that’s what this case is really about.”

Daniel O’Malley, mitigating, said Lungley had no history of offending.

He said: “Let me be crystal clear, the gravity is not lost on me and nor is it lost on him.

“Eighteen months have passed since that offending behaviour and his sentencing today.

"It is hugely fortunate that no child was involved, and the defendant recognised that when he was interviewed.

“He is relieved Otis was an adult police officer and not a child.

“He puts forward a rationale, or catalyst, for his offending behaviour to isolation arising from Covid.”

Defence – Daniel O'Malley, mitigating, said Vincent Lungley was aware of the seriousness of his offendingDefence – Daniel O'Malley, mitigating, said Vincent Lungley was aware of the seriousness of his offending (Image: Newsquest)

Lungley, of The Street, Ramsey, was supported by his husband in court.

Lungley was sentenced to a ten-month prison sentence suspended for two years after admitting two counts of attempting to cause a child to look at an image of sexual activity and one count of attempted sexual communication with a child.

He was also ordered to carry out 40 rehabilitation days, 150 hours of unpaid work, and was given a sexual harm prevention order.

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