Sting operation traps pervert

A MAN had a surprise when the 14-year-old girl he thought he was meeting in Derby turned out to be a sting operation undertaken by self-proclaimed paedophile hunters.

Kevin Betteridge, 29, had been messaging who he thought was a teenage girl before arranging to meet her in Normanton. The “teenager” was a woman pretending to be a 14-year-old girl.

Derby Crown Court heard messages were sent between the defendant and the adult posing as a teen between December 2018 and January 2019.

Betteridge planned to meet who he though was the girl in Normanton, but when he went there, was confronted by members of a group who had carried out the sting. Police were called and Betteridge was arrested.

Recorder Adrian Reynolds, who presided over the case, handed Betteridge a community order that involves him attending a sexual offending course.

He said: “You need to take a good long look at yourself and ask why you were prepared to do this. You have got a lot of problems. You need to take advantage of the opportunity I am going to give you.”

Earlier, prosecutor Laura Pitman told the court: “Just before midnight on January 4, police officers were asked to attend in Normanton. They did attend and were informed by the group (carrying out the sting) that the defendant had been communicating with what he believed to be a 14-yearold girl.”

Simon Blakeborough, mitigating, told the court his client never intended to have sex with the girl. He said: “I do hope to persuade the court the appropriate sentence is a community order and the defendant attends a sexual offending course. I try to persuade the court it is appropriate in this case.”

Betteridge, of Melbourne Street, Derby, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. He was handed a three-year community order which included a 90-day course and 35 rehabilitation days. He was also given a sexual harm prevention order for five years.