Paedophile thought he was meeting 14-year-old girl at city hotel for sex

A PAEDOPHILE who was caught by an online paedophile hunting group while trying to meet up with a 14-yearold girl has avoided jail.

Jason Evans, 33, was apprehended by the group PH Balance outside Subway in Newport on September 25 after he arranged to meet up with an underage girl for sex at a nearby hotel.

While the defendant was under the impression that the girl was real, it was a decoy account that belonged to a woman with links to PH Balance.

The court heard that Evans, of Stroud, made contact with the decoy account via a chat room app and was told early on in the conversation that he was talking to a 14-year-old girl.

Prosecutor Gareth James said: “The conversation went on for a week and the defendant said his brother was looking for a girlfriend and a new email address was given.

“The new email was obviously the defendant and the conversation turned to sexual matters.

“The girl was asked for a photograph of her underwear, was asked if she was a virgin, was told he was looking for sex with a young girl and described in graphic detail what sexual activity he wanted to take place.”

Evans booked a room at the The Queen’s Hotel in Newport and arranged to meet the girl near the Subway restaurant in the city centre.

When the defendant contacted the decoy account, the woman behind it contacted PH Balance and they travelled to Newport to confront him.

He was challenged outside Subway and a citizen’s arrest took place. The police were called and Evans was taken into police custody.

The defendant made a full admission in his police interview and said he was anticipating having penetrative sex with a 14-year-old girl.

When his belongings were searched, condoms and bed linen were discovered, which the prosecution claimed he took with him to use at the hotel and discard after the act.

Evans denied having any interest in young girls but accepted he was lonely and didn’t have a girlfriend.

A search of the defendant’s address was carried out by police and they found a blow up doll, bought in a sex shop in Gloucester, which was wearing a white child’s dress and socks. It was also revealed Evans had a previous conviction for possessing indecent images of children.

Judge Patrick Curran QC gave Evans, of Gloucester Road, a threeyear community order and made him subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention order. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for five years.