A man from Goole who believed he was grooming a 13-year-old girl online has been jailed for just nine months, a sentence that in practice could mean he serves less than half that time behind bars.
Phillip Buckingham, 61, sent sexually explicit messages and an indecent image of himself to what he thought was a child over a three-day period in November 2022. He also asked for sexual images in return. But the account he targeted was in fact being run by an undercover police officer.
Buckingham was arrested outside his workplace and later appeared at Hull Crown Court, where he was sentenced to nine months in prison, given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
Detective Constable Paul Twidale, who led the investigation, described Buckingham as a “vile individual” who sought to exploit a vulnerable child. He praised the undercover operation for preventing real harm, adding that Humberside Police takes sexual offences extremely seriously.
Yet the sentence has raised questions. Grooming and sexual communication with children is a crime that can devastate young lives, and campaigners argue that punishments of under a year do not reflect the seriousness of the offence. With standard remission, Buckingham could be released in less than five months.