Paedophile groomed ‘13-year-old girl’ online – but ‘she’ was a decoy

A BEESTON paedophile groomed a “13-year-old girl” online and sent her an indecent video of himself.

Nottingham Crown Court heard how warehouse worker Martin Paterson thought he was gaining the trust of an underage victim, who had made it clear to him how old she was, by talking about school and boys.

But, unbeknown to the 47-year-old defendant, the “girl” was actually a decoy set up by a paedophile-hunting group.

Handing Paterson a 12-month prison term, suspended for two years, Judge Mark Watson said: “In April and May of last year you thought you were talking to a child who was aged 13. Over three or four weeks you talked to her about subjects such as school and boys and then turned the conversation sexual sending her a video of you for the thrill of it. You also accepted you looked at child porn websites.

“This was (by law) an offence of attempt only because there was not a real child.”

Steven Gosnell, prosecuting, said Paterson began talking to the girl over Facebook Messenger in April last year. He said the conversations moved to Whatsapp and became more sinister.

Paterson, of Wilkinson Avenue, pleaded guilty to attempting to engage a girl in sexual communication and attempting to get a child to watch a sexual act. He has no previous convictions.

In mitigation, Boanca Brasoveanu said Paterson worked as a warehouse assistant, had made full admissions to the police and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

The judge ordered the defendant to attend a sex offender treatment programme and 15 rehabilitation sessions.

He also placed him on the sex offender register for 10 years and imposed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.