Lewisham paedophile pimp Jack Wesley befriended boy at food bank

Jack Wesley, who previously went by the names Robert Bailey and Shaun Williams, has a horror record of sexual offending towards children. 

In 2012 he was jailed for a year and a half after he groomed a 14-year-old schoolboy in Essex, took him to the park and performed sexual acts on him. 

Then in 2016 he was jailed for seven years after he moved to the West Midlands and began pimping out boys aged between 13 and 15 to adult men. 

Wesley, 35, of Firhill Road in Catford, has now offended again by breaching a court order which banned him from communicating with anyone under the age of 16. 

He befriended a 14-year-old boy he met through a local food bank and had conversations about the boy’s sexuality. 

Wesley had previously been warned he was facing prison time for this offence. 

But on Thursday (June 27) he walked free after a judge decided a prison sentence would be unfair on his seriously ill mum, who Wesley acts as a carer for. 

Jack Wesley was spared a prison sentence so he could look after his seriously ill mum (Image: NQ)

Prosecutor Claire Cooper told Woolwich Crown Court that Wesley had met one of the boy’s relatives while volunteering at the food bank between October and December last year. 

He went on to exchange messages with the teen, including having a conversation about the boy’s sexuality. 

The offending came to light when another of the boy’s relatives walked in and saw him on a video call with Wesley, who immediately disconnected the call. 

She contacted the police who informed her that Wesley was a convicted sex offender. 

Judge Christopher Grout said the messages Wesley sent the boy were not explicitly sexual. 

Ms Cooper said: “Given his previous convictions one can see the concerns that any police officer, parent and child would have with the conversation.” 

She said there was a large chance Wesley would have tried to meet the boy. 

Barrister Mr McKenna, representing Wesley, said there was no evidence of grooming behaviour but conceded that there was a risk of harm to the teen. 

In mitigation, Mr McKenna said Wesley is a carer for his seriously ill mum. 

He also provided the judge a letter from one of Wesley’s friends, who purported to Wesley’s “outstanding character”. 

Judge Christopher Grout said: “I have to say that description is difficult to reconcile with your antecedent record and current offending.” 

Wesley himself suffers from debilitating Gardner’s syndrome and prison would be exceptionally hard for him, Mr McKenna said. 

Judge Grout said a 20-month sentence was appropriate in the case. 

“I have considered whether that sentence ought to be suspended. On one hand, you evidentially pose a risk to the public, particularly children,” Judge Grout said. 

“On the other hand, though your mitigation is not substantial in amount, I do note the very debilitating medical condition from which you suffer and the impact an immediate custodial sentence will have on your mother. I also cannot ignore the overcrowding situation in prisons.” 

Judge Grout said that “by the narrowest of margins” he decided to suspend the sentence for 18 months. 

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) remains in place.