Pictured: Wayne Chester, 43, has been jailed for the second time this year
A paedophile caught red-handed by online vigilantes trying to meet a 14-year-old for sex has been jailed for the second time this year for attempting to meet up with underage girls.
Wayne Chester is now starting a 21-month jail term after being snared by paedophile hunters Guardians of the North.
The 43-year-old was jailed for 22 weeks earlier this year after falling for a police sting to catch adults trying to contact underage girls online.
He responded to a friend request from a fictitious 14-year-old girl, ‘Phoebe Lees’, which was, in reality, a false profile set up by undercover officers, as part of Operation Ascension, in early January.
Durham Crown Court heard how Chester was caught by Guardians of the North last September and was on bail for those offences when he was confronted by police officers in January.
Jonathan Walker, prosecuting, told the court how a member of Guardians of the North set up an online social media profile, supposedly posted by 14-year-old ‘Amelia’, accompanied by a randomly-selected image of a girl of about that age.
‘I like young girls’: Chester sent suggestive messages to a undercover police officers and paedophile hunters, believing he was speaking to a 14-year-old girl
Durham Crown Court heard how Chester was caught by Guardians of the North last September and was on bail for those offences when he was confronted by police officers in January
Chester responded, telling her she was, ‘beautiful’, and ‘she’ replied making it clear to him she was only 14.
The court heard how he asked if she liked older men and sent her an intimate image of himself.
Chester told her he liked younger girls and asked her to send indecent images of herself, but she did not comply with his request.
The following day he asked her to move on to a different messenger site so he could make contact with her ‘friends’ who, in reality, were also decoys, posted by the paedophile hunting group.
Mr Walker said just three days after first contacting ‘Amelia’, Chester arranged a meeting, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham.
Jonathan Walker, prosecuting, told the court how a member of Guardians of the North set up an online social media profile, supposedly posted by 14-year-old ‘Amelia’, accompanied by a randomly-selected image of a girl of about that age
Chester responded, telling her she was, ‘beautiful’, and ‘she’ replied making it clear to him she was only 14
When he was spotted looking furtively round at the meeting place, police were informed and arrested Chester.
When interviewed, he denied knowledge of any of the online exchanges.
Chester, from Salford, Greater Manchester, and formerly of Cosgrove Avenue, Bishop Auckland, admitted two counts of attempting to incite a girl to engage in sexual activity.
He also admitted one of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.
Holly Betke, defending, urged Recorder Rachael Harrison to impose a suspended prison sentence to enable Chester to attend a sex offender treatment programme to address his problems.
But, imposing an immediate sentence, Recorder Harrison said he had actively sought out and attempted to meet several young girls within a short period of his initial contact.
Chester must comply with police notification as a sex offender for ten years and remains subject of a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, imposed when he was last jailed.