How a convicted groomer gave false name to get close to Sheffield family - and how council failed to stop it

Simon Bagley, formerly of Hendon, Sunderland, lied about his identity when he began a new relationship with a Sheffield mum he met through online dating site Bumble in late 2019.

If she had known his real name, one online search would have shown how the 48-year-old was caught by a vigilante sting group in 2016 trying to meet up with a teenager he had been grooming through online messaging site WhatsApp.

Further, Bagley duped the mum and her teenage children by agreeing to a background check with Sheffield City Council’s social services but filling in the form with a fake name.

The council didn’t ask for photo ID and gave the all clear.

In fact, his unsuspecting new partner only found out he was lying to her because he left his wallet in her car one day.

Now, the Sheffield mum wants others to know Bagley’s face and that he can and will hide his identity – after seeing him crop up once again on Bumble with a new profile.

“It’s all been so stressful for me and I just want to leave it in the past,” the mum told The Star.

“But knowing he’s free now to do what he wants and might get close to another family who don’t know who he is just isn’t right.”

The ordeal began in late 2019 when the Sheffield mum met Bagley through online dating app Bumble.

“He said his name was Simon Jones,” the mum said.

Because of personal circumstances, the woman was already working with Sheffield City Council’s social services and asked ‘Simon’ to submit to a background check.

“I was in the room as he filled in the form,” she said.

“He must have given a false name. You don’t give a false name unless you have reasons.

“The council didn’t ask for his driver’s licence or photo ID.

“A few weeks later, my social worker called me – they said everything was fine.”

For the next six months, the mum went about life with her new partner, until the day in early 2020 when she realised she had been duped.

“I gave him a lift in my car one day and I realised he had left his wallet on the car seat,” she said.

“I decided to be a bit nosy and have a look. That’s when I realised something was wrong.”

The name on his credit card was not Simon Jones, but Simon Bagley.

“I called my social worker straight away and told them, and they said ‘that doesn’t sound good’ and to leave it with them.

“Minutes later, they called me back and told me what they had found online.”

The top result on a search engine was: “Moment 42-year-old pervert is confronted by paedophile vigilantes Dark Justice when he thought he was meeting 13-year-old to take her virginity”.

To her horror, the mum found Bagley had been convicted in 2016 for grooming when he was living in Hendon, Sunderland.

The then-42-year-old was caught by paedophile sting group Dark Justice as he tried to meet up with what he thought would be a 13-year-old girl.

At a court hearing in October 2016 at Newcastle Crown Court, hundreds of depraved messages sent by Bagley were shown to the judge, showing how he asked the made-up girl if he could be ‘her first boyfriend’.

He pleaded guilty attempting to meet a child under the age of 16.

Defending barrister Tony Hawks called the 42-year-old ‘pathetic and vulnerable’.

He was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years, and was made to sign the sex offenders register for five years.

It means he was in breach of the register rules when he lied to the Sheffield mum about his name.

“I broke things off immediately,” she told The Star.

“I wrote him a, let’s put it, sternly worded letter and contacted the police.”

In November 2021, Bagley pleaded guilty at Barnsley Magistrates’ Court to failing to comply with the sex offenders register.

However, he was again only handed a six month prison sentence suspended for two years. It is understood he has moved to another part of South Yorkshire as of today.

The Sheffield mum wanted to put the unbelievable events behind her – until he cropped again for her on Bumble, under a new profile.

Now, she wants to warn other women that Bagley is capable of lying about his identity and that they should know who they are getting involved with.

Meanwhile, The Star asked Sheffield City Council to explain why they did not ask for photo ID when performing a background check on Bagley.

The council refused to comment, with Andrew Jones, director of children’s services, saying: “Sheffield City Council cannot comment on individual cases. The correspondence and outcomes of any complaints processes is not public information.”

The mum said: “My social worked called me to apologise and said that ‘policies would be changing', but that’s not the point.”

The mum’s ex-husband is pursuing complaints against the council and Social Care England.

He has had a letter from Social Care England closing the complaint because he was not subjected to ‘direct personal injustice’.

“They’re still my family,” he told The Star.

“It’s frustrating that someone slipped through the net and it was easy for them to do so.

“I want photo ID checks to be put in place, and it’s amazing they weren’t already.

“There checks need to be more robust so people cannot easily hide their identity.”