A 22-YEAR-OLD from Bristol has been jailed after grooming children through online video games.

Kieran Francis, of Fishponds Road, Bristol, was sentenced to five years in prison when he was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court after admitting a number of charges – and will be added to the Sex Offender’s Register for life, as well as being given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Francis pleaded guilty to:

Two counts of causing a child to watch / look at an image of sexual activity.
Four counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity
One count of attempting to meet a child following grooming
Three counts of possessing indecent images (one count for each category A, B and C)
One count of distributing indecent images of children

During the hearing, on October 16, the court heard Francis first came to police attention in February 2025, before being arrested in April, when officers seized his devices and questioned him.

He was then bailed with conditions not to speak to any children, while enquiries were ongoing.

As part of police enquiries, a review of Francis’ devices were conducted, where officers found in excess of 1,000 indecent images of children.

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At the same time, three other police forces reached out with similar reports that he had been speaking to three other children online.

It was discovered Francis had been using children’s video games to befriend them and made contact with them using private messaging systems.

As a result, he was further arrested on August 9, charged and remanded into custody.

In a victim personal statement, read out at the sentencing, one of the children’s mothers said: “My son’s childhood has been stolen, his trust shattered and his safety ripped away.

“He was groomed online by the defendant – a predator who deliberately targeted an innocent child. This was not an accident. It was calculated. It was cruel.

“My son was a happy, carefree boy who trusted people. That boy is gone. This is not short-term harm. These are deep wounds which will shape his entire life. He has lost his carefree childhood. That loss cannot be undone.”

Another mother said: “While my children were growing up, I always told them not to be afraid of the dark and that monsters weren’t hiding in the shadows at night. I now realise I was right, monsters don’t hide in the shadows at night, but I was wrong in saying they didn’t exist. They are and he’s before us now.

“[Kieran Francis] has cast a shadow on mine, my families and so many other children’s and family’s lives. They will always remember this. While what [he] did won’t ever define them, [he] has darkened their lives and [he] has no right.”

After the hearing, officer in the case, DC Natalie Norman, said: “Francis befriended his victims, requested images and videos from them for his own sexual gratification.

“He then went as far as to distribute these images to other individuals seeking the same disgusting and heinous gratification from such images.

“Francis committed repulsive crimes and took advantage of children who were just wanting to enjoy their free time playing video games.

“He took advantage of them and knew this, given his immediate guilty plea.”

DC Norman added: “I would like to commend the victims for their bravery and resilience during this investigation. I do not doubt this has been an incredibly traumatic time for them and their families, and their support of our enquiries should be commended.

“All of the victims and their families have been safeguarded and provided with support from their home forces and I would like to thank them for their support. They have shown true courage and strength throughout and we would not have the result we have today, and saved possibly other children from a similar fate, without them.”

For more information on how to keep yourself and children safe online, visit internetmatters.org.

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