Latest Offenders

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A Devon man has been jailed for arranging to meet a 13-year-old girl at the train station but instead being confronted by a group of vigilante paedophile hunters.

Gary Parker, 43, was snared by UK Database who filmed his citizen’s arrest at St David’s Station in Exeter.

They told him the person he thought was a 13-year-old girl was really a fictitious online creation.

Parker, of Brays Close, Crediton, immediately admitted what he had done. In court he pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a girl under 16 for sexual activity; attempting to engage a child in sexual communication via Facebook Messenger; and attempting to arrange or facilitate a sexual offence with a girl.

He was jailed for 15 months.

It is the latest in an increasing number of cases involving paedophile hunters to come before the courts.The offences took place between December 4 and December 9.

Judge Graham Cottle said: “These offences arise out of short series of events involving a fictitious girl called Sammy.

“The prevalence of, and increase in, this type of offending is of great concern and sentencing must reflect the extent of that concern. The message has to be sent out and received that men like you, with or without previous convictions, who may engage in this sort of activity are committing a serious offence, which unless there are wholly exceptional circumstances, they will receive an immediate custodial sentence.

“However difficult you find it to accept what you’ve done it’s quite clear the plans you had for this fictitious girl involved sexual activity.”

The court was told that within minutes of befriending the ‘girl’ online he had initiated sexualised chat. UK Database published details of the conversations and the arrest of Parker on its Facebook site.

It was clear to Parker from the outset that the person he believed he was talking to was just 13, the court was told. But this did not stop him arranging to meet her for sex in Exeter.

Peter Seigne, mitigating, said Parker knew now he had been spending ‘way too much time’ on the internet.

He would spend up to six hours a day playing games and started to accepted friend requests in order to gain online coins to carry on playing.

He said the defendant found the citizen’s arrest ‘very frightening’ and wanted to get help from probation for his behaviour.

Following his release from prison Parker will be subject to licence and supervision conditions. He was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and must sign the Sex Offender Register.

After the sentencing, an NSPCC spokesperson for South West England said: “Parker’s shocking behaviour highlights the dangers posed to youngsters by offenders online. He fully believed he was speaking to a 13-year-old girl via social media, but continued to groom her before attempting to meet her.

“This kind of predatory activity can ruin childhoods, with the devastating effects lasting into adulthood. While the victim in this case was fictitious, we know that ‘real’ children are being targeted by groomers every day in the UK.

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Officers traced Aron Marczylo, who worked for the club until July 2017, to his home address in Shirley where he lives with his parents and found him in possession of the offensive material.

Among his collection included more than 6,000 category A indecent images of children as well as videos in which children were abused by adults.

In some of the videos, the young victims were seen crying as they were abused.

Southampton Crown Court heard that Marczylo used a peer to peer search system in order to obtain and download the images.

Timothy Akers, prosecuting, told Southampton Crown Court that police tracked the 30-year-old and paid him a visit on October 25, 2016.

He said: "Police seized his computer, laptop, mobile phone and tower unit for his pc.

"The defendant had 78 category A, 12 category B and seven category C movies.

"He was also found to have thousands of still images, of which the majority of them were the highest category, on his hard drive...some of the children involved are aged as young as four-years-old."

"In one video there is reference to a child, thought to be 11-years-old, who is in discernible pain during the events taking place in it.

"There is another video in which a child is crying in pain."

Mr Akers added: "In his interview he said he would watch the videos with his girlfriend."

He identifies as pan sexual and describes as having fantasies involving child abuse although he has never committed the fantasy."

Mitigating, Berenice Mulvanny told the court that Marczylo has struggled with depression, anxiety and suffered bullying as a child.

In one instance, she said, Marczylo had his hair set alight as a child.

Marczylo, of Janson Road, Southampton, was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order which will run for five years and will be on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.

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A woman who made a home video showing her 'engaging in sexual activity with a dog and was caught with a horde of child abuse images has escaped jail.

Suzie Cairns – who admitted having pornographic pictures of children being sexually abused – insisted the extent of the apparent sex session with her Golden Labrador had been “exaggerated”.

She said: “There was no intercourse with the dog, and that is what was implied. What’s said is that I had sex with the dog and I didn’t.”

Cairns, 39, was speaking after being sentenced at Livingston Sheriff Court on Friday.

She also pled guilty to possessing “extreme pornographic images depicting in an explicit way a female engaging in sexual activity with a dog”.

She was placed under social work supervision for three years under a community payback order as a direct alternative to a prison sentence.

She was also told her name would remain on the sex offenders’ register for three years with strict conditions about access to children under 16 and internet capable devices.

She will have to attend appointments with her supervising officer as and when required to promote her rehabilitation and work on “attitudes and other risk factors” behind her offending.

Neil Stewart, defending, said the background report on his client was very positive, she had no previous convictions and she showed insight into her offending.

He said: “She now has the ignominy of having a conviction like this to her name.

“She’s also subject to the notification requirements under the sex offenders’ regiser and, if I can put it this way, she’s also been subject to the court of the public in respect of reporting of it in the press.

“She’s afraid to leave her home that’s causing her distress, but she accepts she’s put herself in that situation. I’m not trying to excuse her actions.”

Passing sentence, Sheriff Martin Edington told Cairns: “Your solicitor has made it vey clear how ashamed and embarrassed and remorseful you are.

“I’m prepared to take into account there were not a large number of images and you’ve got no previous convictions so I am not today going to deprive you of your liberty.”

At an earlier hearing it was revealed that detectives from Police Scotland’s Cyber Crime Unit got a tip-off that the Cairns’ internet IP address had been used to access indecent images of children.

Officers got a search warrant and went to her home in Falconer Rise, Livingston.

She was interviewed and her mobile phone was seized and examined. The indecent images and other images were found on the phone.

There were three Category ‘B’ images showing non-penetrative sexual activity and 161 photographs in the least serious Category ‘C,.

In addition, there was one Category ‘A’ movie involving children as well as the extreme video showing sex with the dog.

Cairns was interviewed and made various admissions to officers before being arrested and charged.

Outside her ground floor flat, Cairns said: “I’ve had a long day. My health doesn’t keep great and I just want to go home and rest.”

Description

Pervert Christopher Powell was caught with thousands of child abuse images and extreme pornography.

The 31-year-old, who is a carer for his mum and dad, was arrested after the photos and videos were found on a laptop when the police raided his home.

The defendant initially denied any wrongdoing but went on to plead guilty to possessing indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography shortly before he was due to stand trial.

Now Powell, of King Street, Fenton, has been handed a suspended prison sentence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Prosecutor Nicholas Tatlow said: Police searched this defendants home address and took a laptop and two hard drives which were found to contain indecent images of children.

The police found both still and moving indecent images of children in categories A, B and C.

There is at least one image of a child suffering a considerable amount of pain and distress.

There are moving images, a high volume of images and large number of different victims.

In total, police found 383 images at category A, the most serious; 249 at category B; and 2,745 Category C. A total of 96 extreme porn pictures were also recovered.

Jason Holt, mitigating, said: It has taken time to accept what he has done but there is a degree to which he has changed his attitude which is shown in his guilty pleas.

He had a difficult upbringing from the age of six and the irony is he now cares for his mother who had had a stroke and for his father who has also had a stroke. He cares for them both but in particular his mother.

He accepts the issues that he has and has shown remorse and concern.

Powell was sentenced to a two-year community order with 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 40 hours of unpaid work.

He was also made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order.

Recorder John Butterfield told him: There was a high number of unique and accessible images, they were both still and moving.

There were images of children and of bestiality.

These were real children in the process of being sexually abused and possibly these children would not have suffered if it wasnt for people like you perusing an interest in them.

The court ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the laptop and two hard drives.

Description

A paedophile claimed he tried to meet a '14-year-old boy' for sex when he was grieving for his Chelsea football star stepdad.

Lee Stride, whose stepfather was Blues defender David Stride, has been spared jail after he arranged to meet who he thought was a teenage boy he had been chatting to on Grindr.

When he arrived to meet the youngster he was confronted by paedophile hunters from the group TRAP.

Southampton Crown Court heard supermarket worker Stride had struck up a conversation on Grindr.

Prosecutor James Kellam said that after the 'boy' said he was 14, Stride continued to talk to him and sent intimate pictures of himself.

Mr Kellam said: "You will be familiar with cases where self-appointed guardians of society - as they see it - set up profiles on dating websites.

"The defendant fell into conversation with a man with an individual profile on Grindr and who told him he was 14.

"Despite having heard that, the defendant continued to talk to him and to send him pictures, which he himself admits [are his genitalia]."

Mr Kellam added it was "quite clear" the exchange concluded with the pair arranging to meet to have sex.

The court heard when Stride arrived at the arranged meeting point, he was challenged by two men who told him police were on their way.

A video of the confrontation was also posted online, which was viewed more than 800,000 times.

Stride, of no fixed abode, admitted one count of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

Defending, Mark Florida-James told the court this was an 'unusual' and 'sad' case.

Mr Florida-James said Stride was grieving for his stepfather, who had recently died of a heart attack.

David Stride played 35 times for Chelsea before going on to play for a number of teams in the North American Soccer League.

He added: "[Stride] has gone from a respectable member of the community to someone who will hang his head in shame for a long time to come."

Sentencing him to 12-months behind bars, suspended for two years, Judge Gary Burrell QC told Stride that his wife standing by him was one of the factors that had spared him an immediate jail term.

The judge said: "You have the support of your family.

"In particular, your wife who states, 'I still love my husband and want to support him through the difficult time he is going through, including working on our marriage'.

"In this case there were no real victims. Nevertheless you did not know that and you thought you were in contact with a 14-year-old boy.

"You sent photos which was a particularly stupid thing to do.

"You are very lucky to have that support from your wife. She has stood by you in these most difficult of circumstances."

Stride was placed on the sex offenders' register and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for five years.

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A BISHOPS Itchington man has been jailed for raping three women.

Nicholas James Holland, age 34, pleaded guilty to three counts of non-recent rape offences at Birmingham Crown Court on February 6.

He was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

The first victim came to police in 2016 and reported that Holland had raped her. She named the two other victims who were contacted by police.

The other two women were reluctant to speak to police but after being reassured they also disclosed offences committed by Holland.

Det Sgt Gareth Unett, said: Holland preyed on young women and the impact on their lives has been devastating. They bravely came forward to report the crimes to police despite the time that had passed. They should be commended for their actions which have helped protect the wider public.

This case highlights that no matter what length of time has passed, the public should feel reassured that Warwickshire Police will thoroughly investigate non-recent offences, supporting victims throughout.

While two of the victims were initially reluctant to talk to police, specially trained officers worked closely with them to provide reassurances and the bravery of all the women ensured Holland faced justice.

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A teenager claimed he had been bullied in school to look at indecent images of children.

But an investigation showed he continued to search for such images after he left school. It was said in court to have become an addiction.

Morgan Andrew Abbott, 18, of Lower Dee View Road in Greenfield, Holywell, was given a chance of a suspended sentence.

At Mold Crown Court, Judge Niclas Parry gave him a 16 month youth custody sentence but suspended it for two years.

He was ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work and he was placed on 60 days rehabilitation.

Abbott was ordered to register with the police as a sex offender for 10 years and a 10 year sexual harm prevention order was also made.

He admitted he made by downloading 115 indecent images and movies of children at the most serious category A; 99 images at category B, and 288 images and movies of children at category C.

Abbott admitted that in November last year he distributed indecent images/movies of children in all three categories using Skype.

He admitted possessing 244 prohibited images of children and possessing six extreme images, which portrayed, in an explicit and realistic way, a person performing an oral sex act on a dog.

Judge Parry told him it took a police investigation and his arrest for him to realise the seriousness of what he had been involved with.

He had searched for material which depicted the abuse of very young children.

It has taken this prosecution for you to understand that children who are abused suffer trauma which is immeasurable, he said.

His case was seriously aggravated by the fact some of the images had been shared, he said.

Judge Parry warned the distribution offences could attract sentences of up to five years.

But he was only 18, he committed the offences when he was immature, inquisitive and nave, and experimenting sexually.

He had no previous convictions and he had pleaded guilty.

If he received an immediate sentence then he would be released relatively early without any of the issues and problems he had being addressed, the judge told him. He had therefore decided to suspend the sentence.

Robin Boag, defending, said his client was a young man of good character with no convictions who had pleaded guilty at an early stage.

The distribution was limited to two individuals in November of last year.

He had initially been bullied into doing it but he accepted it had carried on from there.

There had been some encouragement and then he accepts it became an addiction, he said.

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A young man who dreamed of becoming a police officer has been jailed for child sex offences - including a sickening attempt to "blackmail" a 12-year-old schoolgirl into sending him indecent images of herself.

Cameron Longstaff, 20, went online to target the two schoolgirls, telling one he would circulate an intimate image of her that he had acquired if she did not send him more explicit pictures.

The youngsters said the experience left her feeling vulnerable, scared, and angry.

The other girl was so afraid she stayed indoors with the curtains closed, and asked her parents to always lock the doors.

As he imposed a year-long jail term on the defendant, of Hurley Road, Little Corby, Judge James Adkin told him that despite positive character references, the "overwhelming" evidence of his guilt from the trial revealed a darker side Longstaff's character, including his interest in child pornography.

"There is a predatory aspect to this," said the judge. "You felt it necessary to humiliate a young girl because she would not comply with your demands."

Longstaff denied two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity; three of downloading indecent child images; one of possessing such images; and two counts of distributing it.

A jury convicted him of all the offences.

The court heard how Longstaff had amassed a large collection of sickening child pornography images, both still images and videos.

Of these, 33 were classed as the most serious kind. The trial was told how Longstaff - 16 when he committed most of the offences - used a social media site under a false name, targeting the two 12-year-olds, urging them to share indecent images of themselves.

When one refused he threatened to distribute an intimate image of her that he had acquired, later sending it to a Russian website used by child porn perverts.

Victim impact statements revealed how the girls were affected. The first girl was left suffering from sleep problems, and her school-work suffered.

The second girl - in court with her mother for the hearing - said: "I was hiding in the house with all the curtains drawn because the [the defendant] said he would come to my house."

Her mother said: "My daughter was only 12 years old and she was very scared by what happened. ..We had been an open house until then, but after the incident, my daughter insisted on locking all the doors all the time.

"She still feels uncomfortable now being at home alone."

Kim Whittlestone, for Longstaff, said her mitigation was limited because the defendant continued to protest his innocence. Character references showed he was a hard-working young man, supported by his family.

"He worked at the family cafe but had aspirations to join the police force," said the barrister.

"He was undertaking a college course which would have enabled him to enter the police force once that was passed."

Miss Whittlestone said most of Longstaff's offending happened when he was 16 and that there was a suggestion he had not acted alone.

At the time, she said, he was struggling to fit in with his peer group. Longstaff wept as he was led away to start his sentence.

His name will be on the Sex Offender's Register for a decade, and he will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

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A PAEDOPHILE who repeatedly raped a girl when she was a young child has had his prison sentence extended by two years.

Christopher Hendy, 52, formerly of Devereux Road, Amesbury, abused this victim in the 1980s, forcing her to perform sexual acts on him.

He told her not to tell anyone about what had happened.

Hendy also abused another young girl by touching her sexually on a single occasion.

The two victims came forward after reading press coverage of Hendys previous convictions in 2015, when he was jailed for 22 years for 21 offences, including 12 counts of raping children.

He initially denied abusing the two girls, but changed his plea on the eve of his trial, admitting rape, gross indecency with a child and indecent assault.

Winchester Crown Court heard on Friday that Hendy was a teenager when the abuse took place.

Andy Houston, prosecuting, said Hendy would look at dirty magazines before abusing his victim.

The victim remembers being told by the defendant she was a special girl and this was their little secret that no one should ever know anything about, Mr Houston said.

In a statement, one of Hendys victims said to him: I am not scared of you and what you did.

Mr Houston said that both victims had undergone counselling and suffered from stress, depression and anxiety as a results of their ordeals.

The court heard that Hendy, who showed no emotion during the sentencing hearing, would be starting a course in prison to help with victim empathy.

In mitigation, Ms Sourtsz said: These proceedings have brought him stress and considerable anxiety.

She said a long sentence would utterly crush Hendy, adding: It is very difficult for him to look beyond today and deal with what lies ahead of him.

In his dream he wants to come out of prison and re-establish his life to the best of his ability but he appreciates that is some way in the distance.

Sentencing, Judge Susan Evans said: No child should feel ashamed at being abused.

She added that if the offences had been dealt with in 2015, Hendy would have been jailed for eight-and-a-half years, but she was restrained by her sentencing powers.

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A Margate man who raped a woman on a Ramsgate beach has been jailed for eight years following an investigation by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

Oliver Cooper, 20 and of St Michaels Avenue, committed the offence in August 2016 and was found guilty following a trial in December 2017.

He was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court today (February 2) and, further to his custodial sentence, will appear on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

The court had previously heard that Cooper was known to his victim and they had agreed to meet.

During this meeting however, in the early hours of 7 August, he grabbed hold of her throat and raped her on the beach.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Tania Pickering of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said: Cooper is a predatory sex offender who has failed to acknowledge the impact his behaviour has had on his victim.

After first putting her through a harrowing and demeaning ordeal, he then made her face the anguish of going through a criminal trial.

Her courage and bravery has been exemplary and, while the sentence cannot undo the damage Cooper has done, I hope the victim can take comfort from the fact justice has been served.

Description

A VILE paedophile who threatened a teenager into sending sexual videos of her and her brother has been jailed for 12 years.

Daniel Norton, 26, told the Hampshire girl that his father was a police officer and if she did not send pictures and videos of herself he would "take her away from her family".

Southampton Crown Court heard that he also made threats to distribute pictures and videos of the victim on the internet if she did not send more.

Eventually when the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said she did not want to send them, the images were put on the internet and went viral.

It forced Hampshire Constabulary to issue a warning to parents, urging them to tell their children not to pass on the disturbing video.

Norton, of Cheadle, Stockport, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment, with three years on extended licence.

Norton admitted three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity between October 1 and December 1, 2017.

He also pleaded guilty to making dozens of indecent moving images of children - across all three categories of severity - and possessing extreme pornographic images - which depicted children involved in sexual activity with animals.

Description

A former DJ who worked as an actor and singer has been jailed for 27 months after he tried to incite young girls to get involved in sexual activity online.

Andrew Welsh, 29, believed he was talking to a girl aged 13 but he was speaking to a police officer.

He had highly sexualised conversations with another girl aged 14 in Bulgaria – police found 1,500 messages over five months.

Welsh, a volunteer with Tudno FM, who took part in the opening of the London Olympics, sent images of himself including his manhood and persuaded the teenage girl to send him videos of herself.

Mold Crown Court heard in chat rooms he discussed the abuse, torture, mutilation and murder of young girls.

His barrister Jonathan Austin stressed it was purely fantasy.

He had been involved with music in public as a DJ on a local radio station, in theatre and in charity events with youngsters and there had never been any suggestion that he had behaved in-appropriately, Mr Austin said.

Judge Niclas Parry jailed Welsh, of Peulwys Avenue in Old Colwyn, as well as jailing Welsh, made him subject of a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to register with the police as a sex offender for ten years, after he admitted making indecent images of children by downloading them, distributing images, and two charges of attempting to incite children to engage in sexual activity.

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More than 500,000 images showing children of a variety of ages were recovered from David Allison's computer equipment A man who hoarded more than half a million indecent images of children, including some photos taken at a school and showing girls' underwear, has been jailed for three years. David Allison, of Moat Court, Shaw Close, Ottershaw, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court last Friday (January 26), after previously pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent photos of a child, one count of taking images of a child and two counts of voyeurism by installing equipment or constructing or adapting a structure. The 48-year-old was arrested on November 29 last year in an intelligence-led search warrant at his home. Police recovered more than 500,000 indecent images showing children of a variety of ages from Allison's computer equipment. They included 5,038 category A images - the worst level - 8,693 category B images and 84,300 category C images. The court heard there were so many photos that police have not yet had time to look through them all since Allison's arrest. He took photos on his camera, but also with a camera pen and on his iPad. On one occasion Allison left the camera on his iPad poking out of the top of a bag while recording, the court was told. Lee Harris, prosecuting, said: "He would put it in a camera bag with the camera poking out the top and leave it in a place where it could film in the school. "It was premeditated and the stills were opportunist. There was one picture in particular of a person getting changed in a school classroom," Mr Harris added. Allison appeared for sentencing via video link from HMP High Down and sat with his head bowed throughout most of the hearing. Mr Harris continued: "He accepted he was responsible for downloading the images and also admitted he recently accessed a live streaming website but felt he was crossing a line. "He kept the images and movies on a single hard drive and one day said he would draw a line in it and put the disc through the shredder." Summing up, Judge Robert Fraser said: "It is very clear no-one knew what you were doing. This was by a very clear description very concerning." 'Ashamed and disgusted' Sarah Read, defending, said Allison, an ex-teacher, fully understood he needed to be punished. "He is deeply ashamed and disgusted in himself and is aware fully of the far-reaching impact on those that are affected," she told the court. "There will have been plenty of people who would have been impacted positively by him and he knows fully well those people will be shocked to see where he is now." Allison was also handed a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

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A former steward at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth has been jailed after he was caught in sting by paedophile hunters.

Michael Watton, 56, thought he was meeting a 14-year-old girl for sex at Paignton train station, but was instead confronted by a group of men with a video camera.

They asked him about messages he had exchanged with several children – who were in fact fake profiles – and he admitted arranging to take the girl for a Chinese meal and booking them into a bed and breakfast for sex.

The defendant, who lives in Dartmouth, admitted three offences relating to his online activities and was jailed for 16 months by the judge at Exeter Crown Court.

The defence barrister, Ms Mary McCarthy, argued that in the real world no teenage girl would have found the bearded and balding Watton attractive enough to have sex with. She said the punishment should be a community order.

She also questioned the role of online vigilante groups who ‘encourage’ lonely men like Watton to commit offences. The defence barrister, Ms Mary McCarthy, argued that in the real world no teenage girl would have found Watton attractive enough to have sex with. She said the punishment should be a community order.

She also questioned the role of online vigilante groups who ‘encourage’ lonely men like Watton to commit offences.

But Judge Erik Salomonsen said the number of fake children he contacted meant he should be sent straight to jail.

The offences took place in October last year.

Prosecutor Julia Cox said the three charges related to chats the defendant had with ‘Katy’ ‘Jess’ and ‘Ellie-May’.

Katy had been set up as a decoy by the group Dark Justice.

Watton soon struck up a conversation on the dating site Qeep asking if she was single and how old she was, said the prosecutor.

He told the 14-year-old that he would love to have sex with her and get her pregnant. He then talked about meeting her in Newcastle but did not attend.

Jess, 10, was also a decoy. Watton again asked how old the girl was and whether she’d ever had sex.

Ellie-May, 14, was a decoy set up by Internet Interceptors.

Ms Cox told the court that Watton quickly moved the conversation on to sex, asking if she was a virgin and arranging to meet at Paignton Railway Station on October 21.

“He was met by individuals from paedophile hunter groups,” she said. “They spoke to him and recorded what was going on.”

Watton accepted he was there to meet a 14-year-old. He said he planned to take her to the cinema, buy her a Chinese then use a B&B for sex.

The court was told the defendant had no relevant previous convictions.

Ms McCarthy, mitigating, said: “He was on an adult dating site and out of loneliness wanting to meet adult women. The concern expressed by other judges is the concern of decoys appearing on this adult site as actively encouraging people who wouldn’t otherwise talk to young people down the lane of these offences.”

She said Watton was a bearded 50-year-old man and his profile picture made this clear.

“Without being rude to Mr Watton in the real world no young child would engage with him,” she said. “He didn’t pose as a young attractive person.”

She said he found ‘to his astonishment there were apparently young girls out there wanting to engage with him’.

“In the real world matters wouldn’t have progressed as they did. He is a lonely man living with his mother.”

Judge Salomonsen said he appreciated the point made by Ms McCarthy but the number of girls Watton tried to speak to made the offences more serious.

“You embarked on these exchanges with not one but 10 in all. Given that fact it seems to me this sentence must be served in prison.”

The defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted sexual communication with a child and one of attempting to meet a child for sex following online grooming.

He asked for seven further offences to be taken into consideration.

Watton, of Church Road, Dartmouth, was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

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A charity worker who arranged to meet girls under the age of 14 for sex in hotels has escaped jail so he can 'get help'.

Toni Stevens asked at least 39 underage girls for 'naughty pictures' and threesomes before he was caught by a vigilante paedophile hunting group who had set up the decoy accounts.

The group called police and Stevens was arrested at the scene on November 27, 2017.

During the sting Stevens said: 'I'm ashamed of myself' and hung his head while listening to chat logs from his conversations over WhatsApp.

The 32-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of engaging in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to watch or look at an image of sexual activity at Plymouth Magistrates' Court last November. 

He was handed a 12 months suspended for two years and ordered to attend 20 days of rehabilitation at Exeter Crown Court today. 

His defence counsel Mr Michael Brown had asked the court to show mercy on Stevens who 'acknowledged he had a problems with his behaviour'.  

Stevens was also issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years, which will prevent him from working with children and was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for a decade.

Judge Graham Cottle told him: 'If you are in breach of the order by committing further offences then you will be brought back to court and serve this sentence.'  

In chat logs the community volunteer discussed having a threesome with his ex-girlfriend and sent nude pictures of himself.

As part of the sting, members of the Plymouth Against group set up decoy profiles and spoke to Mr Stevens over messaging apps. 

In the messages exchanged between Mr Stevens and the decoy, the conversation quickly turns from general chit-chat to sexually explicit content despite the paedophile knowing the account he was talking to was supposedly 14-years-old. 

Paedophile hunter Chris, 42, who was involved in the sting, said: 'Toni had been speaking to at least 39 underage girls online and had arranged to meet a lot of girls countrywise. 

'He told [several decoys] he would book a hotel room to facilitate the threesome.

'In this sting, he originally told the decoy to meet him at Taunton Travelodge. He'd arranged to meet our other decoys in Coventry, Birmingham and Manchester.

'Strangely, he had no intention of actually meeting up with any of them. We knew he wasn't going to turn up to the meetings, so we called the charity that he volunteered at called Hele's Angels.' 

At the time of Toni's arrest, the charity Hele's Angels, which supports the local community, claim Toni never had contact with children while working there.

Today, Dani Skillin, a volunteer at the charity, said: 'Hele's Angels are looking forward to the future and moving on without Toni Stevens.'