Convicted rapist Cyril Hardy (pictured above) was caught by a paedophile hunter group after believing that he was meeting a fourteen year-old girl, and was then arrested by the police in Manchester in 2017. However, Hardy, who is 80 years-old, is not to serve any time in prison for his crime, as the judge declared that he was too vulnerable to Covid due to a combination of heart disease and diabetes. The MailOnline has the story.
A pensioner with a history of sexual crimes dating back 50 years has been spared jail after trying to meet up with an adult posing as a 14 year-old girl, because he’s vulnerable to Covid.
Convicted rapist Cyril Hardy, who is 80 years-old, was caught red-handed by a paedophile hunter group, Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Hardy pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to meet a girl under 16 years old for grooming.
He had previously served seven years in prison over a conviction of rape.
The court heard how Stacey McDonald, 29, a member of paedophile hunter group Parents Standing Together For Our Kids, set up a decoy as a ’14-year-old girl’ called Atara Louise on MeetMe and WhatsApp.
Alexandra Sutton, prosecuting, said that between October 21st, 2017, and November 20th 2017, Hardy told ‘Atara’ he wanted her to live with him, marry him and have his children.
Ms Sutton said: ‘She said her mother was going away for a week.
‘He asked her to meet him in the city centre for shopping and said he would take her to buy some new outfits.
‘He asked if she wanted a silver or yellow gold wedding ring.’
The court heard how on November 18th, 2017 Hardy arranged to meet ‘Atara’ at Manchester Victoria station and sent her a photograph of his car registration number.
Once there he was confronted by members of Parents Standing Together For Our Kids, filmed and arrested by police.
A bottle of perfume, an iPhone, and an iTunes gift card were found in his vehicle.
When reprimanded, Ms Sutton said Hardy, who has 16 convictions for 20 offences, said he thought ‘Atara’ was actually older than she was.
Hardy, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, said that the talk about marriage and children was ‘just a laugh.’
Daniel Gaskrell, mitigating, described Hardy, who originally pleaded not guilty but later changed his plea, as ‘a lonely old man who was seeking comfort of strangers, and has been in and out of marriages.’
Judge Paul Lawton criticised two-year delays to the case and said he would have had no reservations of sending Hardy to prison, despite his age.
But, due to the length of time it had taken for the case to conclude, Judge Lawton said he now had the problem that Hardy is vulnerable to Covid, due to suffering from ischemic heart disease and being diabetic.
Judge Lawton said: ‘You are a ticking time bomb in custody as far as Covid is concerned.’
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