Geoffrey Rooney: Former Royal Navy officer from Yorkshire jailed for the second time for serious child sex offences

A former chief petty officer in the Royal Navy has been jailed for the second time since 2015 for serious child sex offences committed after his prison release.

Geoffrey Rooney, 46, was given a 14-year sentence for raping a child and distributing indecent images in 2015, but served only six years and moved to the Wibsey area of Bradford in early 2021.

He has now been jailed again for eight years at Bradford Crown Court after two undercover West Yorkshire Police officers posing as parents caught him trying to arrange sexual activity with their fictional children.

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Judge Andrew Hatton said Rooney, who was discharged from the Royal Navy after his first conviction, had engaged in 'disgusting conversations' with the decoys online and that it was clear he 'believed and hoped' child sexual offences would result from them.

Geoffrey Rooney in a 2015 police custody imageGeoffrey Rooney in a 2015 police custody image
Geoffrey Rooney in a 2015 police custody image
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He also sent photos and videos to the undercover officers which were described as 'grotesque and which defy comprehension'.

Rooney had pleaded guilty to 10 offences at an earlier hearing so received credit on his jail term.

His defence counsel said that he had started a full-time job after moving to Bradford and described him as 'an intelligent and articulate man who is open to reform' and was undertaking self-help programmes for sex addiction in prison. She added that he had 'motivation to change'.

Judge Hatton considered Rooney to pose a significant risk to the public and ordered him to serve at least two-thirds of the sentence, after which he will be on licence for an extended period.