A Sefton man has been jailed to four years in prison for child sex offences.
Callum Fairclough, 26 years, of Netherton was sentenced to four years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, Monday 21 August. He was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs of children, possession of indecent photographs of children, two counts of taking an indecent photograph of a child, attempted blackmail, attempted sexual communication with a child, and attempting to cause/incite a child to watch a sexual act.
Following a long investigation, detectives charged Fairclough for a string of child sex offences which took place in June 2021.
Detective Inspector Victoria Tinsley said, “Following a long investigation Fairclough was charged with a string of offences which demonstrated him as a sexual predator, and now he is behind bars and can no longer cause harm to children.
“Merseyside Police is completely committed to stopping the possession and distribution of indecent images and, ultimately protecting children from sexual abuse and those who seek to do them harm.
“We hope that he will now reflect on the consequences of his utterly depraved actions while serving his jail time.”
Merseyside Police works with other UK forces, agencies and the Child Exploitation Online Protection centre as well as law enforcement agencies across the world who share our determination to protect children from dangerous offenders online.
Det Insp Tinsley, added, “We have specialist officers within our Online Child Abuse Investigations team who are dedicated to investigating these crimes, bringing those responsible before the courts and ultimately protecting young people from unimaginable suffering.
“Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to stress that if you have experienced any form of sexual abuse, or know of a child being abused, please come forward and report this to police.
“We take all such reports extremely seriously and if you can find the courage to come forward and speak to us we have specially trained officers who will treat you with sensitivity and compassion.”
If you are a child or young person suffering sexual or physical abuse, the following organisations can also provide help and support:
NSPCC – call 0808 800 5000 or e-mail help@nspcc.org.uk 
Childline – call 0800 1111
If you’ve been affected by sexual violence of any kind don’t be afraid to tell someone, find the courage to come forward and get the help you deserve.
You can report rape, sexual assault and other sexual offences anonymously here: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ro/report/rsa/alpha-v1/advice/rape-sexual-assault-and-other-sexual-offences/how-to-report-rape-sexual-assault-other-sexual-offences/
There is a lot of support available from specialist officers within Merseyside Police and through the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Victim Care Merseyside service delivered jointly by two registered charities.
In Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral, support is provided by Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (RASA) Merseyside who are available on 0151 558 1801 and, in St Helens and Knowsley, by the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) Cheshire and Merseyside who can be contacted on 01925 221 546 or 0330 363 0063.
Image: Merseyside Police/Callum Fairclough
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