Paedophile who preyed on schoolgirls was caught after his ex-girlfriend set up fake Snapchat profile

A paedophile actor who preyed on schoolgirls was caught by his actress ex-girlfriend when she set up a fake Snapchat profile to snare him.

Adam Simmons, 27, was in a relationship with Louisa Lanza, 27, when she became suspicious as he started hiding his phone.

She later found it and discovered he sent vile sexual messages to under-age girls but when she contacted police no action was taken.

Deciding to catch him in the act she set up a fake Snapchat profile posing as a 12-year-old girl called ‘Anya’ and started messaging with Simmons who claimed he was 17 and asked her for sex and begged her to send him explicit pictures.

Miss Lanza reported Simmons to police again and he was arrested in 2018.

Adam Simmons, 27, was caught by his former partner when she set up a fake Snapchat account

Simmons admitted five charges of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and distributing an indecent image of a child.

Warwick Crown Court heard Simmons, who acts on stage and in minor local productions, had sent a ‘voluminous’ number of sick messages to young girls.

John O’Higgins, prosecuting, said Miss Lanza had initially dumped Simmons and reported him to police in January 2018 but no action was taken.

He said: ‘In October that year she noticed a new name had appeared on her Snapchat account, and decided to check whether it was Simmons, so created one herself using the name Anya.

‘The profile gave Anya’s age as 12 but that did not seem to bother him.’

Mr O’Higgins said he gave his name as Adam and claimed to be 17 and asked if they could have sex.

He also told her she could touch herself and send him pictures so he could ‘make sure she was doing it right’.

When he was questioned he said he had been in a relationship with an actress who found out about his sexual chat with other females.

He claimed he was attracted to women aged 16-22 and had ended the chat when he found they were younger.

The messages from Adam Simmons, 27, included discussions about oral sex with two girls aged 12 and 13 from America

Mr O’Higgins said police found ‘voluminous’ sexually-explicit chats he had had with other girls.

They included discussions about oral sex with two girls aged 12 and 13 from America and a request to a 15-year-old Swedish girl to have items available so she could penetrate herself.

Julia Needham, defending, said: ‘There has been a very, very substantial delay in bringing these proceedings.

‘There was a two-year delay between his arrest and appearing in court.’

Simmons, of Leamington Spa, Warks, was sentenced to 14 months in prison suspended for two years and ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Sentencing him at Warwick Crown Court, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano said: ‘These are matters that are very serious indeed. You know the view I take of that.

‘You are very fortunate, first that you have not been charged with the more serious offences, and second that there is no evidence whether these were real children.

‘The prosecution cannot prove that they are, but that is what you thought when you were contacting them.

‘You have put yourself in huge danger of going to prison, but I am not going to send you to prison today.’