A FISHGUARD chip shop worker has been sent to prison for sexual offences against two girls under the age of 16.
This morning (March 28), Hasan Taskin, 35, received a custodial sentence from His Honour Judge Christopher Vosper KC.
Taskin was charged with two counts of sexual communication with a child and one count of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence. He pleaded guilty to two of the three offences.
On December 15, 2022, Taskin, formerly of West Street, Fishguard, now of Stratford Road, Milford Haven, contacted a 14-year-old girl via a social media app. The girl, who was later revealed to be a decoy, told Haskin her age and that she was from Oxford.
The defendant lied to the girl and said he was 28 years old, adding that he was too old for her but age did not matter to him.
The conversation between the two moved to Whatsapp where he asked the child to come to his address in Fishguard for one to two days. He offered to pay for a taxi and would send her £300.
He also told the victim that he would love her, would have sex with her and if she got into trouble, he would marry her.
When the person operating the decoy said she had never had sex before, the defendant sent the 13-year-old a link to a porno in order for her to learn from it.
Taskin told the child he did not have a girlfriend, concealing the fact that he had a wife and son.
Taskin asked the victim to not tell her mother about their conversations and to tell her mother that she was staying at the girlfriend’s house if she visited the defendant.
Alongside talking to the decoy, Taskin engaged in a conversation with a 13-year-old girl from Bristol who was also a decoy account set up by paedophile hunters.
The defendant called the girl beautiful and asked if they could move the conversation to Whatsapp.
He said that he wanted to meet her to have sex with her and that he would wear a condom.
He told her that he loved her and offered to buy her a new mobile phone so she could send recordings of herself to the defendant.
Taskin also offered the victim whisky and pocket money and said he would marry her when she turned 16 or 17.
He asked her how her day at school was and how much money she would want if she stayed with him for the day.
He told the decoy that when she arrived, the pair would eat, drink, talk, watch TV and then have sex.
It was agreed that the 13-year-old would travel from Bristol on January 7, 2023. Taskin arranged for a taxi to collect her from Bristol Coach Station at 6pm.
The defendant told the girl to tell her mother that she was visiting a girlfriend for their birthday and to tell the taxi driver that she was 16 years old and visiting her mother. He also asked her to turn off location services on her mobile phone.
On January 6, the defendant asked a colleague to book a taxi to collect the girl from Bristol.
The taxi travelled from Carmarthen to Bristol but the decoy did not show up. The taxi driver attempted to contact the girl by calling the number Taskin had provided but there was no response. Taskin was contacted by the taxi driver and agreed to pay the £250 fare.
The decoy group agreed to meet at his place of work. The police were contacted and arrived shortly after where Taskin was arrested.
In a police interview on January 8, 2023, Taskin admitted to communications with the two profiles but claimed he believed they were both adults lying about their ages.
He also admitted to paying the taxi fare but did not believe the taxi driver would have picked up the 13 year old if she was really a minor.
He claimed he did not have sexual intentions and that he used google translate to communicate with the girls, thinking that his messages were translated incorrectly, especially the ones saying he would sleep with the girls.
Taskin initially denied the charges but later changed his pleas and admitted to one of the sexual communication charges and the facilitating charge. The second offence will lie on file.
His defence barrister argued that there was no abuse of trust, no threats, no targeting and no soliciting of images.
He also denied his client groomed the children, claiming that it was just a clumsy attempt to have sex with a 13 year old.
His defence said that Taskin had a realistic and sufficient prospect of rehabilitation. He added that the defendant is married and has a child who would both have to be moved out of Wales if a custodial sentence was given to Taskin.
He also claimed that the defendant was a good character who made a terrible error, he recognises his mistake and recognises that he needs help.
In his sentencing, His Honour Judge Vosper recognised that there was no real girl to be abused by Taskin but denied that Taskin was a good character as he had no positive impact on the community and that he had groomed the victims.
Judge Vosper also took into account the porno link sent to the 14 year old girl, and the planning that took place. He noted the defendant asked the girls to not inform their mothers and offered them gifts and bribes.
Judge Vosper told the defendant: “You groomed the person you thought was [the 13-year-old].
“You told her how to lie to her mother and to conceal where she was going. You sent a taxi to collect her and you paid the fare. I conclude, if there had been a 13 year old girl, you would have engaged in penetrative activity with her.”
He sentenced Taskin to three and a half years imprisonment. Taskin received nine months imprisonment for count one, and three and a half years for count three. He received a discount on his sentence due to pleading guilty and because there was no real victim.
Taskin will serve one half of the sentence imposed before being released.
Upon release, the defendant will need to abide by licence conditions. If he breaches these conditions, he may be recalled to prison.
He has also been issued a sexual harm prevention order which prohibits him from deleting his browsing history from computers or owning multiple sim cards. He must also report to a police station indefinitely and is banned from working with children or vulnerable adults.
