A man who thought he was talking to a 12-year-old girl online has been jailed for 10 years for trying to meet up with her for sex.
Ciaran Clark (46) from Ross Street, Widnes, had even booked a hotel room in the hope of meeting up with her – but he was not aware he was actually speaking to an undercover police officer.
Clark appeared at Chester Crown Court on March 17, to be sentenced after pleading guilty to arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence – rape / assault by penetration of child under 13, and being an adult attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
As well as the jail term he was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life and handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Officers from Cheshire Constabulary’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT) were alerted to Clark’s illegal activity after he was caught in the act by an undercover officer pretending to be a 12-year-old child in an online chatroom.
DC Faye Taylor said: “Clark was unaware he was sending his warped messaging to an undercover officer. He’d even booked a hotel room in anticipation of meeting the child.
“This is what makes us so determined to catch these people and stay on duty to make sure they are remanded into custody. Even though he was talking to an adult, he was unaware, and the intent was there – his messages were despicable.
“As a team we are driven to stop people like Clark in their tracks and we will do all we possibly can to protect children at risk from these predatory paedophiles.”
