Alex Stevens appeared to have a good job willing to help the community but he had a darker side that saw him exploit and groom a young boy
An ambulance service worker exploited a teenage boy and drove him to meet another man to have a “dehumanising” threesome. Alex Stevens, 26, groomed the teenager over WhatsApp and Snapchat and drove the then 13-year-old to an unknown location in Bootle to meet another man.
Stevens’ disgusting behaviour was only uncovered when he sent pictures of the boy, whose identity is protected for life, to a different man who raised his concerns with the police. Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Monday, December 16 how police were contacted by the man who said he had been sent the indecent image by Stevens.
Louise McCloskey, prosecuting, told the court the two men, who knew each other from school, had previously had sexual conversations and spoken about meeting up to engage in a threesome without ever doing so. On March 5 this year they started talking again and Stevens sent the man an image of a white male with blonde hair and said he had previously had a threesome with him.
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The court heard that Stevens “flippantly” told the man that the boy was 15. When the man told him that was a child, Stevens then attempted to delete the images but the man took a screenshot. After the police were contacted, the defendant was located and arrested on April 28. His phone was seized and forensically examined, revealing indecent images of a child.
Videos sent on Snapchat couldn’t be recovered but a similar series of videos were recovered on WhatsApp and efforts were made to identify the boy. He was identified in August and interviewed where he told officers he started speaking with Stevens in April 2022 when he was 13.
Ms McCloskey told the court that the chat soon became sexual and the defendant asked the boy for videos of him masturbating. Stevens sent him videos of him engaging in sexual intercourse with young men aged 16-18, the boy told police.
The defendant asked him if he would want to meet other men and the following month drove him to an address in Bootle. There the defendant and an unknown man who was referred to in court only as “Marco” engaged in a threesome. The boy said he felt “dehumanised”.
The court heard Stevens also took photos and videos of the sexual encounter and sent them to other people. The boy would later cut off communication with Stevens only for the older man to contact him from a new Snapchat account in August this year to say his phone had been seized and pictures of the teenager might be on there.
Analysis of Stevens’ WhatsApp communications showed the discussion of the threesome with the man referred to as “Marco” before they went through with it. In one exchange Stevens asked him what his age preference was to which the other man responded “youngest as possible haha”.
The court heard pictures were also shared including one of the boy in a school uniform. A later message showed the other man ask “how old is he again” and when told by Stevens the boy’s age he added: “Wow, he is 10 years younger than you and 20 years younger than me.”
When the defendant was interviewed he answered no comment. However, on October 2 this year he pleaded guilty to 10 sexual offences including two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child; making indecent images; distributing indecent images; distribution of indecent images; possession of all the images and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.
In a victim impact statement read to the court by Ms McCloskey, the boy said he had lived with what happened for two years and was now “trying to move forward with his life and hopes he can put it behind him”. He added it was important to have spoken to the police because he doesn’t want it to happen to anyone else.
In her own statement, his mum added that his family was “devastated that he had to endure a harmful sexual assault and felt he had to live with it”. She said instead of his first sexual encounter being joyful it instead brought feelings of fear and self-loathing. She said her son had taken the decision not to share what happened beyond his family as “he was fearful his friends would view him differently”.
In mitigation, Carmel Wilde, defending, said her client now understands how disgraceful his actions were. She said he “deeply regrets his actions but can’t take them back”. She said at the time her client was exploring his own sexuality, but “the victim shouldn’t be embarrassed and instead the shame is all the defendant’s”.
She said Stevens’ mum died when he was six or seven which had been traumatic for him. He had also witnessed domestic abuse as a child and had been severely bullied at school. She said he had become suicidal in respect of this case but was willing to engage in treatment.
Ms Wilde told the court that Stevens had worked for the North West Ambulance Service and had recently been promoted to an operations manager. Although he will never work in that industry again, Ms Wilde said the stable employment “shows a positive side, willing to help the community and those in need.”
Sentencing, Judge Robert Trevor-Jones told Stevens: “All of these offences arose out of your association with the victim. In April 2022 you would have been 24 and he would have been 13. You began to engage in a very sexual conversation with him.
“You were aware from an early stage about his young age. You said in your pre-sentence report you were shocked by his age but that doesn’t square with what you went on to engage in.” The judge told Stevens, who wore a blue suit and sported brown hair and beard that there was “no doubt you were manipulating and exploiting him”.
The judge noted that Stevens, of Blaydon Close in Netherton, had attempted to put the blame on the unknown man and at times the victim himself. Stevens also denied having an interest in children, but the judge said this denial was unfounded. Judge Trevor-Jones added that the author of the pre-sentence report said Stevens was a high risk to children. The judge told him: “I agree with that conclusion.”
Judge Trevor-Jones treated count one – engaging in sexual activity with a child by penetration – as the lead offence and all the other offences as aggravating factors. Awarding the defendant full credit because of his guilty pleas, the judge sentenced the pervert to six years’ imprisonment.
Judge Trevor-Jones ordered the defendant, who was unsupported in court, to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life; imposed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a 10-year restraining order.
The judge told Stevens that after consideration he did not deem an extended sentence necessary due to the ancillary orders, the defendant’s age and the length of the sentence. Stevens did not react as he was led out of the dock.
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 [email protected] / 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.
