A Nigerian student in the United Kingdom, Anderson Ishiekwene, has been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment after he was convicted of attempting to meet a child following online sexual grooming.
The 25 year old, who arrived in the UK on a student visa in August 2025 and settled in Sunderland, was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register and comply indefinitely with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He is expected to face automatic deportation upon completing his prison sentence.
According to the BBC, Ishiekwene began communicating with what he believed was a 14 year old girl on Facebook on January 2 before moving the conversation to WhatsApp. Unknown to him, the profile was operated by an online paedophile hunter group working to expose suspected child predators.
Prosecutors told Newcastle Crown Court that over an eight day period, Ishiekwene exchanged more than 300 pages of messages with the decoy, despite repeatedly being informed that the person he was communicating with was 14 years old.
The court heard that he asked questions about the supposed teenager’s school, school uniform and body, requested explicit photographs and sent an indecent image of himself. He also repeatedly urged the “girl” to delete their conversations.
When the decoy refused to send explicit images, Ishiekwene allegedly described the refusal as “unfair” and claimed such exchanges were normal in relationships.
The pair later agreed to meet at the Galleries shopping centre in Washington, England, on January 10. Prosecutors said Ishiekwene told the supposed teenager he intended to kiss and sexually touch her. However, upon arriving at the meeting point, he was confronted by members of the paedophile hunter group before police officers arrested him.
Although Ishiekwene denied travelling to meet a child for sexual purposes, a jury found him guilty after a three day trial of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. He had earlier admitted to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
Delivering judgment, Judge Robert Spragg said the sexual activity Ishiekwene intended during the planned meeting was merely a “precursor” to full sexual intercourse on a later occasion.
The judge also noted that a probation assessment found there was “little doubt” that the defendant was sexually attracted to children.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered that Ishiekwene remain on the Sex Offenders Register and comply with the Sexual Harm Prevention Order indefinitely. The court further stated that he is likely to be automatically deported from the United Kingdom after serving his sentence.
