Stephen McLean, of Sunderland, tried to meet the child for sexual activity and exploited her into make a sickening advert with a price list
02:00, 28 Apr 2026
Stephen McLean
A depraved online predator got a vulnerable young girl to advertise herself for sex while exploiting and abusing her online. The girl, who has autism and is from Newcastle, was just 12 when stranger Stephen McLean started communicating with sexually her online.
He engaged in vile chat, including suggesting she engage in sexual activity with family members and others, and got her to send sexual images, while he sent indecent material of himself to her.
Newcastle Crown Court heard he also told the easily-led child to create an advert to sell herself for sex while she was still under 13. This included the offer of providing sexual images of herself and and meeting “customers” for sexual activity, with the plan being the money would be paid into his McLean’s PayPal account.
A document was found in her pencil case showing McLean’s name, phone number, email address and home address. Police also recovered a price list relating to the proposed sexual activity she was told to sell.
When she was 13, he made arrangements to meet her to engage in sexual activity. She cancelled a number of planned meetings so they never actually met.
The court heard McLean was also separately found trying to communicate sexually with a 13-year-old online which was actually a decoy account set up by an undercover police officer. Despite being told of her age, he asked for pictures and sent sexual images of himself.
McLean was also found with a large number of indecent images, aged between three and 16, including some of the real-life victim. He had also contributed to online paedophile chat sites, engaging in discussions and sharing indecent images with other perverts.
McLean, 25, of Cherrytree Square, Sunderland, pleaded guilty to 19 offences of engaging in sexual communication with a child, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child, arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, making and possessing indecent images of children, distributing indecent images of children, and breaching a sexual risk order.
He was branded a danger and jailed for nine years with an extended licence period of a further five years. He will also have to sign the sex offenders register and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years.
Judge Robert Spragg told him: “What you put that little girl through is horrific. The effect is likely to be long-lasting.
“You targeted her online where her mother could not have protected her. You were devious and manipulative and she couldn’t possibly have known what you were doing.”
Sam Faulks, defending, said McLean is immature and that his offending was “to some extent borne out of that immaturity”. He added that he has never been to prison before.
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