A FORMER trainee teacher who was responsible for looking after young Scouts has pleaded guilty to engaging in lewd and sexual conversations with young boys through social networking sites.
Christopher Pimm, who was a Scout leader with Blackmore 1st Scouts, was arrested at his home address in Kelvedon Hatch in November 2011 and subsequently charged in August 2012 with two counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, three counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act and two counts of making indecent images and movies of children, all in 2011.
The victims, aged in their early teens, were three boys from Ilford, east London, Brentwood and Basildon.
The police investigation began in October 2011 following concerns about the level of contact he had with the victims through social networking sites.
The 24-year-old added the boys as friends on Facebook and then engaged in sexually-explicit conversations with them before sending them pornographic links.
During the police raid on his home in Great Fox Meadow officers seized his computer, which was found to hold a quantity of indecent images and movies of children.
The former sailing instructor appeared at Basildon Crown Court on Thursday, September 27 and pleaded guilty to all five offences. He is due to be sentenced at Basildon Crown Court on Monday, October 29.
In a statement, the Scout Association said: "The Scout Association is aware of court proceedings involving Christopher Pimm.
"The Scout Association condemns the actions of Pimm.
"Pimm was suspended from any form of contact with the Movement as soon as we were informed by police. We can confirm that he will never again be allowed to work within the Scout Movement.
"The Scout Association has co-operated fully with the statutory agencies.
"The Scout Association carries out stringent vetting of all adults who work with young people and requires them to work to a strict code of practice outlined in the "Young People First" Code of Practice.
See www.scouts.org.uk/safeguarding
