Man thought he was meeting girl
A MAN who thought he was meeting up with a 13-year-old girl at McDonalds was met by a paedophile hunters group after sending them indecent messages.
Mark Taylor, 47, attempted to meet up with an underage girl he believed was called Becky at the fast food restaurant in Talbot Green on February 3.
The defendant began talking to the girl, who was in fact a decoy and a member of the group Welsh Children Protectors, on a dating website.
But seconds after the fictional girl told him she was 13 years old the nature of the conversation became sexual and Taylor asked her if she was a “good girl or a naughty girl” and whether she wanted to see his genitals.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday heard Taylor had travelled down from his home in Gloucester to Talbot Green in order to meet the girl.
He also set up a WhatsApp account and pretended to be a 15-year-old girl in order to reassure his intended victim he was trustworthy and safe to meet up with.
Prosecutor Jason Howells said: “The initial conversation starts with the decoy saying she was 13 years old. He said she looked older and asked her of she was a good or naughty girl.”
He added: “The conversation move on to them talking about meeting up. He asked her if he would get to see ‘boob’ and suggests this will help her get a boyfriend.”
The conversation carried on in this nature for a number of weeks and the defendant asked the decoy if she liked oral sex and if they could go to bed together.
Mr Howells continued: “On the day of the meeting the decoy and other from the group watched as the defendant got out of his car and confronted him.
“There was a scuffle and the police were called. When they arrived the defendant was face-down on the floor with many people surrounding him.”
The defendant was arrested and initially claimed he knew the person he was speaking to was overage and he believe they were engaging in role play but he later pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.
When police seized his phone they also discovered indecent images of children with three at category A, seven at category B, and 22 at category C. There were also a number of internet searches made relating to teens and underage children as well as two searches relating to bestiality.
The defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of a child. In mitigation the court heard Taylor looked after his mother and stepfather, who are in their 70s, and had expressed remorse.
Sentencing Judge Tracey LloydClarke said: “These offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence would be appropriate.” Taylor, of Manor Park, Gloucester, was sentenced to two years in prison.