British man sentenced to 5 years for enticing 2 Louisiana girls to commit sex acts
LONDON – A 46 year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to five years in a United Kingdom prison for numerous sexual offenses against children, following a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Devon and Cornwall Police in the United Kingdom and the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana.
Mark Noyes, of Beaworthy, United Kingdom, was sentenced to five years in prison and eight years’ probation at Exeter Crown Court following his March 27 conviction for six counts of making indecent images of children, two counts of possession of indecent images of children and three counts of enticing a child to engage in sexual activity.
Noyes had deliberately accessed a social networking site from his home in order to befriend and groom two vulnerable 12-year-old American girls.
"This case shows that, wherever victims are, the police will actively collaborate with law enforcement anywhere in the world to ensure that offenders are brought to justice," said HSI London Attaché Matthew J. Etre. "Thanks to the excellent collaboration between Devon and Cornwall Police, HSI and law enforcement officers in the United States, justice has been served. Targeting individuals who sexually exploit and prey on our children is one of HSI’s top priorities. Anyone who thinks that they can get away with the criminal exploitation of children is mistaken."
"Mark Noyes was a manipulator who persuaded young girls to carry out acts for his own sexual gratification," said Detective Constable Glenn Boniface from Devon and Cornwall Police’s Public Protection Unit. "The extent of his grooming can be seen by the fact that, throughout their contact with Noyes and indeed after his arrest, both of these girls truly believed that they were in a loving relationship with him. This case involved collaboration between us and various law enforcement agencies in the United States over a two-year period and entailed detailed investigation by all of the agencies involved. We would particularly like to thank Lieutenant Broussard from the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana, HSI and officers from the Devon Child Exploitation Team, who led the investigation."
The investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.
HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.
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