Paedophile, 27, is jailed for two years for arranging to meet ’13-year-old girl’

A pervert who kept his freedom after being snared by paedophile hunters armed with a video camera is now in prison after being caught for a second time in an undercover police sting.

Sean Eland, 27, was given a suspended jail sentence in May 2018 after he turned up to meet a 13-year-old girl at Newcastle Central train station but was instead confronted by Dark Justice.

The group is an undercover organisation of members who pose as children online to expose adults wanting illegal contact.

While the subject of an order and undergoing a treatment programme, registered sex offender Eland was duped by undercover Metropolitan Police officers, who had also set up a fake profile of a 13-year-old schoolgirl.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Eland had initiated conversation with the teen profile last June by saying: ‘Hey, you look hot on your pics, how old are you, sexy?’

When told the profile belonged to a 13-year-old girl from London, Eland asked if she ‘liked older guys’ and said he made regular trips to the capital through his work, which would enable them to meet up.

During further sexual conversations Eland, who was banned from having any contact with children under a sexual harm prevention order, sent the girl an explicit photograph of his genitals, tried to incite her to engage in sexual activity with a schoolmate in class and asked her for indecent photographs.

The undercover officers behind the profile alerted Northumbria Police, who arrested Eland and found seven indecent photographs of children on his phone.

Eland, of Longbention, Newcastle, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to breach a sexual harm prevention order, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and three charges of making indecent photographs of children.

Judge Tim Gittins, who passed the original suspended sentence, has now jailed Eland for two years.

Eland must sign the sex offenders register and abide by a new sexual harm prevention order for ten years.

Sean Eland, 27, avoided jail in May 2018 (pictured outside Newcastle Crown Court) after he turned up to meet a girl aged 13 at a train station but was instead confronted by Dark Justice

The judge told him: ‘During the period of the suspended sentence, which many would say was a golden opportunity for you to stay out of trouble, you completed the Horizon treatment programme and attended a significant number of appointments with probation, over 60.

‘That course is specially designed for sex offenders like you, to reduce the risk of committing further offences, give you assistance and methods to turn away from the unnatural feelings you have towards children and urges to engage in sexual activity with children under the age of consent.

‘Within little over a year of that suspended sentence being passed, you breached it in a spectacular fashion by returning to seek contact with children via the internet, social media in particular.’

Judge Gittins said Eland had clearly paid just ‘lip service’ to the authorities who were trying to help him reform.

Geoff Knowles, defending, said Eland had engaged and complied with organisations to try to address his underlying issues. Mr Knowles added: ‘Clearly, a lot more work needs to be done.’

Mr Knowles said Eland is ‘terrified’ of prison and added: ‘He, through me, asks to persuade you he can change and if he was given one last chance of a suspended sentence order he would demonstrate that on this occasion he really is capable of change.’