Joseph Hart 43

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A PRIMARY school caretaker and married father-of-three has lost his job and his family — after trying to arrange for a 12-year-old girl to be sent to him for sex.

Police raided Joseph Hart's Horwich home in May, 2012, after intercepting texts sent to a notorious paedophile arranging to pay £100 per hour for the girl.

He was immediately suspended from his job at Chorley New Road Primary School — and has now been banned from working with children.

His former employer, Bolton Council, stressed that none of the charges related to his employment or place of work.

Police found 61 indecent images of children on the 34-year-old's computer when he was arrested, Bolton Crown Court heard.

The caretaker, who has Asperger's syndrome and an obsessive compulsive personality, initially claimed he was trying to trap paedophile Darren Leggett.

But a jury rejected this and found him guilty of arranging a child sex offence.

He admitted six further counts relating to the indecent images before his trial in November.

Giving a suspended two-year jail sentence yesterday, Judge Elliot Knopf said Hart's case was "unique" and that the deal was in its "early stages".

He also said the defendant did not understand the "outcome of his actions".

Hart made contact with Leggett by text on February 6, 2012 after finding him on a website.

But Kent Police arrested Leggett on February 10, seizing a phone which was found to contain texts sent between February 6 and 9.

Hart, of Green Lane, Horwich, was arrested in May the same year and was then suspended by Bolton Council.

Hart arrived at court expecting to be jailed and had a suitcase with him in the dock.

Vanessa Thompson, defending, said Hart had been married with three children, but that he had split from his wife since the case came to light.

She said: "He is never going to work for the council again and never will he work in the capacity he was before."

Judge Knopf said: "Your case is different and complex and in many respects unique.

"You are someone who suffers from Asperger's and the result of it would appear to be an obsessive compulsive personality, and you do not understand the outcome of your actions.

"It is an explanation as to how you came to be involved in all of this.

"The arrangement with Leggett was very much in embryonic form. No venue had been agreed for what was to happen. Very little had been discussed.

"Once Leggett was out of the way there is no evidence that you tried to pursue enquiries with anyone else."

A council spokesman said: “We can confirm that Mr Hart was immediately suspended from duty as soon as he was arrested and no longer works for the council.

"None of the charges related to his employment or place of work.”

Hart was given a prison sentence of two years, suspended for the same period, for arranging a child sex offence.

He was given a concurrent nine-month sentence for the six charges of making indecent images.

The former caretaker was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years and given a five-year sexual offences prevention order.

Leggett, a convicted paedophile from Kent , was jailed indefinitely in June, 2012, for 31 counts of child sex abuse.

He will be in jail until at least 2019 and must then prove he is no longer a danger before his release can be considered.