Barrister who tried to meet 13-year-old girl for sex is struck off

Barrister, 54, who was jailed for three years after he was caught by police with cider, condom and camouflage net having travelled 150 miles to have sex with ’13-year-old girl’ is struck off

• Guy Sims, 54, started talking to two girls on social media platforms Mylol and Kik
• Travelled from Cambridge to Portsmouth to meet one but was arrested by police
• Sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison at Oxford Crown Court last year
• Barrister struck off after a hearing at The Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service

Guy Sims (pictured) started talking online to two girls he believed to be 13, sending them sexualised messages

An experienced barrister who travelled across the country with alcohol, a condom, and a camouflage net to have sex with 13-year-old girls he met online has been struck off.

Guy Sims started talking on social media platforms Mylol and Kik to two girls he believed to be 13, sending them sexualised messages.

The barrister, 54, made arrangements to meet one of the girls and travelled 150 miles from Cambridge to Portsmouth with the intention of engaging in sexual activity. 

When he arrived, he was arrested by officers who found he had cider and a condom on his person, as well as camouflage leaf netting in his car.

Sims, from Bedford, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison last October at Oxford Crown Court after a unanimous jury found him guilty of three counts of arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence.

Now the barrister has been disbarred following a hearing at The Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service (BTAS) after two charges of professional misconduct were brought against him by the Bar Standards Board.

The tribunal found that Sims – who was called to the bar in 2000 – behaved in a way which would be seen by the public to undermine his honesty and integrity and concluded that he should be disbarred.

Sims, from Bedford, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison last October at Oxford Crown Court (pictured)

A tribunal report said: ‘In 2017 he set up one or more profiles on a teenage dating site purporting to be a 16-year-old boy.

‘In September 2017, he exchanged sexually explicit messages with persons “X” and “Y” whom he believed to be 13 years of age.

‘On September 27, 2017, he travelled with a condom and alcohol to meet X for the purposes of arranging or facilitating sex with X.

‘On September 27, 2017, he arranged to meet Y in a wood, carrying with him a camouflage net, for the purposes of arranging or facilitating sex with Y.’

The hearing was also told that in 2019, while already under investigation, he engaged in conversations with another girl he believed to be 13 and made arrangements to meet her for the purposes of sexual activity.

A spokesperson for the Bar Standards Board said: ‘We consider the Tribunal’s decision to order the disbarment of Mr Sims was appropriate in the circumstances.

‘A criminal conviction for child sex offences is clearly incompatible with the high standards expected of the Bar.’

The tribunal’s decision is open to appeal. 

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