Fraud scam uncovered after teen sex attack

10:08pm Wednesday 21st May 2008

A delusional pervert was caught at the centre of a massive fraud plot after seducing a 15-year-old girl.

Adrian Hickman groomed the teenager over the internet then plied her with drink before filming himself having sex with her in a boutique hotel in Brighton.

But when the shocked youngster went to police they raided the 31-year-old's home and uncovered a fortune funded by a life of lies created by Hickman.

Today he was jailed for eight years at Hove Crown Court after he admitted offences including having sex with the underage girl and fraud.

Police uncovered a £500,000 scam and evidence he was distributing child pornography at his property.

A painstaking investigation led by Detective Constable Will Thomas of Brighton and Hove CID uncovered six active passports Hickman was using which the fraudster had applied for using the same photograph but different names and addresses.

He opened up to 50 bank accounts or credit cards in his false names, then took out cash to the overdraft or credit limits and kept the scam going by travelling to false postal address as far away as Edinburgh.

Editor's Choice