- Christopher Rooney thought that he had been chatting with a 14-year-old girl
- Pervert sent sexually explicit messages, photos and videos of himself to the ‘girl’
- He was in fact talking with a decoy from an anti-paedophile vigilante group
Christopher Rooney, 30, was snared by paedophile hunters who tricked him into thinking he was chatting with a 14-year-old girl
A paedophile who arranged to meet a 14-year-old girl in a park was caught in a sting by online vigilantes.
Christopher Rooney, 30, was caught by paedophile hunters after sex chats with who he thought was a schoolgirl.
The group – called Protecting Children Online UK – compiled evidence including sex videos Rooney had made of himself and sent to the ‘girl’.
Prosecutor John Warren said a woman from the vigilante group set up a fake profile pretending to be a schoolgirl when Rooney contacted her.
Mr Warren said: ‘She told the defendant she was 14.
‘The conversation turned sexual in nature. The defendant asked how she would feel about him kissing her and touching her body.’
Cardiff Crown Court heard Rooney sent the girl sexually explicit photos and videos of himself before arranging to meet in a park in Cardiff.
But Rooney failed to arrive for the meeting in November and the paedophile hunters handed their evidence over to police.
Rooney, from Cathays, Cardiff, admitted attempting to communicate sexually with a child and attempting to meet a child after sexual grooming.
Cardiff Crown Court heard Rooney sent the girl sexually explicit photos and videos of himself before arranging to meet in a park in Cardiff. Rooney is pictured left in July last year and right in August 2016
Adam Sharp, defending, said Rooney suffered from depression and had trouble controlling his emotions.
‘He accepts these offences are serious and distrubing,’ Mr Sharp said.
Rooney was handed a 14 month suspended sentence and ordered to complete a course for sex offenders.
He was ordered to sign the sex offenders register and made subject to a five year sexual harm prevention order.