Man sentenced to more than four years for child sex offences

A man has been jailed for four years and eight months after previously admitting to child sexual offences.

Calin Rus, 47, of Hatfield, appeared at St Albans Crown Court for sentencing on Friday 23 January 2026.

He had pled guilty to the following charges at court on Tuesday 16 September last year:  

• Attempting to arrange/facilitate sexual activity with a child under 13
• Being in possession and distributing an indecent image of a child
• Attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child

HHJ Johnson handed Rus custodial sentences totalling four years and eight months for all three counts, to run concurrently, and he will also be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order upon release.

He came to the attention of Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Child Online Safeguarding Team following intelligence disseminated by the National Crime Agency where the user of a Snapchat account had uploaded child sexual abuse material.

He arranged to watch the live-streamed sexual abuse of whom he believed to be a 10-year-old girl, when in reality he was engaging with another adult user.

Rus was arrested in connection with the offences at a commercial premises on Market Place, Hatfield, on Thursday 14 August 2025, and remanded into custody the following day.

Investigator Julia Stone, who investigated Rus’ offending, said: “Rus discussed in very graphic terms the sexual abuse of a 10-year-old child and attempted to minimise his behaviour by describing it as fantasy.

“In a well-coordinated joint approach with other law enforcement agencies, the Child Online Safeguarding Team were able to quickly locate Rus and arrest him just as he was preparing to watch the abuse live.

“All online sexual offences against children cause lasting harm to victims and families, and they place heavy demands on safeguarding and justice systems. They also undermine trust in online spaces and can fuel wider criminal activity across the world.”

You can find out more about helping children stay safe online via Online child abuse | Hertfordshire Constabulary, or Get Safe Online.

If you are a victim of child abuse or are worried for the safety or wellbeing of a child, you can report information to police. Even if you’re not 100 percent sure, please report your concerns. Your information could help our trained officers and staff protect the child.

If you suspect someone is in immediate danger, call 999 now. If you have a hearing or speech impairment, use our textphone service 18000 or text us on 999 if you’ve pre-registered with the emergencySMS service.