Sick Pets at Home paedos fantasied about abusing children that came into shop

Two Pets at Home workers who shared sick fantasies about how they’d like to abuse children that came into the store have been jailed.

Bitter Erica Jones, 22 went to the police about her colleague and ex-lover, Phil Hudson’s crimes against youngsters.

But detectives soon discovered she was heavily involved herself.

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Jones was working at the store in Garston, Merseyside in 2019 when she began a sexual affair with Hudson, who had a girlfriend, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Text messages sent between the two revealed how they shared twisted fantasies about abusing children.

Last year, Hudson, formerly of Lincoln Street, Garston, was jailed for 27 months at Liverpool Crown Court.

Jones, of Holmefield Avenue, Runcorn was sent to prison for 24 months just last week.

The court heard that during their relationship, Hudson sent a video of himself masturbating in the presence of a young child to Jones who kept it on her mobile phone.

“The two would also communicate via text and social media and would discuss their sexual fantasies including comments about children that had come into the shop,” the prosecution said.

“The fantasies, predominantly by her co-worker but also by the defendant, would also involve young children.”

But last June, when the couple broke up, Jones told her boss that Hudson had a “sexual interest in children” and was urged to go to the police, which led to Hudson’s arrest and phone being seized.

Jones also gave officers her mobile phone which exposed her own complicity in his offending.

Bernice Campbell, prosecuting said: “During her interview, the defendant stated that she loved her ex-partner and would do anything for him. She admitted that she would also engage in sexual fantasy talk.

“However, in March 2022 she concluded that what he was saying was potentially criminal and wrong so decided to get evidence to show the police. At this time she had also found out that her co-worker had shared photographs of herself with others.”

After an investigation, Hudson eventually pleaded guilty to nine child sex offences, including two counts of engaging sexual activity in the presence of a child, and possessing indecent images of children.

However, analysis of conversations between Jones and Hudson led police to establish that both had been sharing fantasies involving young children and that she had, on many occasions, “been the instigator.”

The sick messages – too graphic to publish – referred to Jones and a young child victim “working together” to perform sex acts on Hudson.

On one occasion when Hudson was in a bath, she said: “It’s a shame (the child victim) was not there with you.”

Jones told detectives she would “play along and engage in her co-workers fantasies about children but that she had no interest in children herself.”

She accepted that she had kept the images and video and had made comments about it, and also accepted that she went to the police in part because she was upset with Hudson as he would not leave his girlfriend for her.

She later pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence.

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