Locations
Bradshawgate, Bolton, BL1
Description
A BAR manager attempted to persuade a 13-year-old girl to model for him and offered to pay her for sex.
But convicted paedophile Link Robinson did not realise the teenager he had targeted in a chat room was an undercover police officer.
Robinson was already subject to a sexual harm prevention order after being convicted of possessing and distributing indecent images of children.
And when police arrested him again at his flat in Bradshawgate, Bolton, they discovered that he had devices capable of accessing the internet which he was banned from having unless his offender manager was informed.
At Bolton Crown Court Robinson, a father-of-one, was jailed for three years after admitting attempting to communicate with a child in order to obtain sexual gratification, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, and four breaches of his sexual harm prevention order.
Geoff Whelan, prosecuting, told how, on September 23 last year 34-year-old Robinson, using the name Model Scout, logged into an online chat room and began a conversation with "Izzy".
Her profile made clear that she was a schoolgirl.
"The defendant messaged her asking her why she wasn't in school and asked if she wanted to earn some cash by modelling for him at his apartment in Bolton," said Mr Whelan.
During the subsequent chat Izzy, who was an undercover police officer, told Robinson, she was aged 13 and a virgin.
The conversation quickly became sexualised with Robinson, sending her pictures of male private parts, encouraging her to commit a sexual act and offering to pay her 150 if she would model for him and they had sex.
"I was thinking if you wanted to be boyfriend and girlfriend we could be and that would lead to sex stuff. I'd pay extra if needed," he told her.
Robinson also messaged Izzy using Kik Messenger using the name AdiBoy87 and encouraged her to send him pictures of herself. But he became angry when he traced to pictures she used to a Russian Instagram account.
"He accused her of being fake, stating 'I am trying to date and have sex with you. I want you to be real'," said Mr Whelan.
Police tracked Robinson's IP address to his home and he was arrested on January 14.
He initially denied being in contact with Izzy although he admitted having used a number of chat rooms.
"He stated the reason he couldn't specifically remember September time was due to it being Freshers Week which was a busy time of year for the bar that he is manager of," said Mr Whelan.
Robinson, who also uses the aliases Carl Robinson and Cark Robinson, admitted that he had changed his name by deed poll following his previous conviction.
Michael Goldwater, defending stressed that the contact with Izzy had been on a single occasion and was "relatively short" in duration.
"The defendant is very distressed at his own behaviour and is very remorseful," he added.
"Although he recognises these are very serious offences, he is confident that, having served his sentence, he will not trouble the courts again."
Jailing Robinson, Recorder Andrew Long told him: "It is clearly indicated that you have a sexual interest in children."
Robinson was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for life.