Sex tape paedophile jailed

3:03pm Wednesday 16th April 2008

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A PAEDOPHILE who filmed himself having unprotected sex with an underage girl from St Albans has been jailed for six-and-a-half years.

Richard Kloss, 34, form Horley, Surrey was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court today after pleading guilty to numerous child sex abuse charges.

The court heard how Kloss preyed on a number of young girls via internet chat rooms, encouraging them to expose themselves and engage in sexual activity via web cam.

His grooming culminated in May 2007 when he met his 15-year-old victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at St Albans City station after several weeks of chatting to her online.

Prosecutor Helen Lewer told the court how Kloss had lied to the vulnerable youngster about his age, telling her he was 22.

When the teenager told him her age he seemed unconcerned and continued his sexual pursuit.

The pair met on two occasions, each time Kloss driving the victim to his home where they had sex.

Judge John Plumstead told Kloss: "You drove her a long way and I know that during that journey you're grooming continued because she was talking about meeting your cat while you were thinking about having sex with her."

On the second meeting Kloss filmed the sexual activity when the victim was dressed in her school uniform.

Judge Plumstead continued: "You were in these chat rooms searching for vulnerable young girls who you could groom and in the end abuse."

In November 2007, Kloss pleaded guilty to two counts of meeting a child following sexual grooming, three counts of sexual activity with a child, four counts of taking indecent photos of a child and four counts of possession of indecent photos, which were found on his computer.

Defence counsel Nicholas Corsellis said: "When It dawned on him the reckless and criminal behaviour he had engaged in he withdrew and stepped back.

"By the time of his arrest he had stopped seeing the victim; he had formed another relationship with someone else.

"He had gone to the brink and passed it and realised what he had done and removed himself from the environment where he was commiting crime."

Pleading for clemency, Mr Corsellis explained how his client, who appeared bruised and battered in the dock, had already been subject to a number of attacks by fellow inmates.

Yet despite his mitigation the judge told Kloss he was a predatory paedophile who had deliberately sniffed out vulnerable teenage girls on the web to abuse.

He ordered Kloss to be placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life. He was also given a sexual offences prevention order of 15 years.

Detective Inspector Paul Doran said after the hearing: "The public can be assured that this type of individual is few and far between but a dedicated team of officers are pro-actively investigating those who aspire to commit such crime."

Police are now asking parents to remind their children not to give out personal details online, or any other information which may identify them when using internet chat rooms.