Naveed Ansari 47

Description

A taxi driver who planned to collect a 13-year-old girl from school for sex has been jailed.

Naveed Ansari, 46, of Beckside Road, Bradford, exchanged sexual messages with a decoy profile set up by a group of paedophile hunters.

The cabbie sent the 'teenager' a picture of his genitals and arranged to meet her in Leeds.

He was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Bradford Crown Court on Friday after admitting three child sex offences.

Prosecutor Richard Walters told the court Ansari was repeatedly told the girl was only 13 during conversations on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

The married taxi driver, who initially claimed to be aged 20, said he would treat the girl "like a princess" and promised to buy her presents.

"He suggested he would buy her a dress and a bra and he showed her images of a teddy bear he had bought for her," Mr Walters said.

Ansari encouraged the 'girl' to perform sex acts on herself and told her she must keep their conversations secret or they would both get in trouble.

He suggested picking her up from school in his cab and said "no-one would be suspicious because people would think he was just a taxi driver," the prosecutor told the court.

Ansari arranged to meet the girl for the first time in Richmond Hill, Leeds, on 23 October last year.

When he arrived he was confronted by members of the Net Justice online predator hunting group, who detained him until police arrived to arrest him.

Police found Viagra tablets, condoms and a receipt for the playsuit, which he had bought the previous night, in his car. They also discovered indecent and extreme pornographic images on his mobile phone, the court heard.

Ansari pleaded guilty to attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in penetrative sexual activity, attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, and attempted sexual communication with a child.

'Denial of responsibility'

Katherine Robinson, in mitigation, said Ansari had found it very hard to accept what he had done.

Ansari had lost his family, his reputation and his job as a result of his actions, the barrister added.

Recorder Tahir Khan KC told Ansari the only sentence that could be justified was immediate imprisonment.

The judge added: "I'm satisfied this wasn't just talk. You wanted to meet this 13-year-old child, as you believed her to be.

"You had come prepared. A black playsuit for a 13 to 14-year-old girl was found in the car."

The judge added Ansari, despite his guilty pleas, continued to "deny responsibility" for his crimes.

Ansari will have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life and will be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order which prohibits contact with girls aged under 16.