A Nigerian student studying in the United Kingdom has been sentenced to three years in prison after attempting to meet who he believed was a 14-year-old girl for sex following days of online sexual grooming. He is also expected to face automatic deportation after serving his sentence.
The convicted student, identified as Anderson Ishiekwene, 25, was arrested in Washington, England, after arranging to meet the supposed teenager. The “girl” was actually a decoy profile operated by an online child protection group that works with law enforcement to expose suspected child predators.
Court proceedings revealed that Ishiekwene, who arrived in the UK on a student visa in August 2025 and was living in Sunderland, first contacted the profile on Facebook on January 2 before moving their conversations to WhatsApp. Over the next eight days, he reportedly exchanged more than 300 pages of messages, despite repeatedly being told the person was just 14 years old.
Prosecutors told Newcastle Crown Court that Ishiekwene asked questions about the child’s school, school uniform and physical appearance. He also requested explicit images, sent an indecent photograph of himself and repeatedly urged the supposed teenager to delete their conversations.
When the decoy refused to send explicit photographs, Ishiekwene allegedly complained that it was “unfair” and claimed exchanging such images was “normal” in a relationship. Investigators said he later arranged to meet the teenager at the Galleries shopping centre in Washington on January 10, where he allegedly expressed his intention to kiss and sexually touch the child.
Instead of meeting a teenager, Ishiekwene was confronted by members of the online child protection group before officers moved in to arrest him. Although he denied travelling to meet a child for sexual purposes, a jury found him guilty after a three-day trial of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. He had earlier admitted to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
While delivering judgment, Judge Robert Spragg described the planned sexual activity as a “precursor” to full sexual intercourse at a later date. The judge also noted the probation service’s assessment that there was “little doubt” Ishiekwene was sexually attracted to children.
Alongside the three-year prison sentence, the court ordered Ishiekwene to register as a sex offender and comply indefinitely with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. According to the BBC, the judge also stated that the Nigerian student is expected to face automatic deportation from the United Kingdom after completing his prison term.
