Man, 39, sentenced for child sex offences

A 39-year-old man has been sent to prison after pleading guilty to a number of child sex offences.

In October 2022, Jon Paul Martin, previously of Northampton, contacted a 16-year-old girl he didn’t know on Facebook Messenger and sent her sexual messages.

During the chat, in which the girl repeatedly told him “no”, he offered her £40 in exchange for sex. The girl blocked him and told a family member before the incident was reported to the police.

Then in January this year, Martin was caught sending sexual images of himself to someone he thought was a child but was actually a decoy working for an online intervention team run by members of the public.

Martin was arrested and in police interview, admitted to sending inappropriate photos to children. He was subsequently charged with one count of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, one count of attempting to cause a child to watch/look at an image of sexual activity, one count of arranging/facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, and one count of attempting to pay for the sexual services of a child.

After being found guilty to the offences at Northampton Crown Court in April, Martin returned to the same court last month (June 20) where he was sentenced to two years in prison.

Lead Investigator – Police Constable Charlotte Carden said: “I’m really pleased to see Jon Martin sent to prison for these offences as it means our children in Northamptonshire are that little bit safer.

“The messages he was sending children were highly inappropriate and the girl in this case naturally felt really upset after her exchange on Facebook Messenger with him.

“I’d like to thank her and her family for their support during our investigation and I hope she in particular feels proud that her courage has put Martin behind bars.

“Northamptonshire Police will do all it can to protect the children in this county and I hope this case demonstrates that commitment and our relentless to do all we can to put the people who threaten their safety behind bars.”