A man who avoided a prison sentence after being caught in a ‘paedophile hunter’ sting has now been jailed.
Robert Beresford, 47, thought he was meeting a schoolgirl by Crosby beach when he was caught with condoms and tissues in his car, back in 2019.
At that time the dad-of-one, from Eccles, Greater Manchester, walked free from court after being handed a suspended sentence at Liverpool Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.
He was spared jail after a judge heard he had no previous convictions, as well as having learning difficulties and a series of mental health problems that had seen him sectioned in 2000.
Beresford thought he had messaged a schoolgirl on a dating app, asking her to "try safe sex".
He was hauled back before the courts after he was found to be in breach of a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Manchester Crown Court was told Beresford had been caught by police with a number of electronic devices he was banned from keeping and he was jailed for 18 months for two counts of breach of a sexual harm prevention order.
Joshua Bowker, prosecuting, told the court that in 2019, the defendant had tried to meet an 11-year-old girl at Crosby beach with condoms and tissues in his car via a dating app.
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Mr Bowker said: "The defendant was in communication with what he thought was an 11-year-old girl but it was in fact an adult male paedophile hunter.
"Police were informed and the defendant was arrested at the meeting spot."
After his previous offence, Beresford was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders register.
Under that order he was prohibited from using internet enabled devices and devices capable of strong images unless police had been notified.
Mr Bowker told the court: "On November 28, 2020, police officers attended his address to conduct a spot check.
"He gave officers an iPhone and was asked if there were any other items in the property, to which he said no."
Mr Bowker told the court that after checking Beresford's email account, officers became suspicious and a search of the property was conducted.
In total, police found four laptops, two mobile phones, memory sticks, two digital cameras, an external hard drive and an internet router, the court was told.
Two of the devices were examined by police but no indecent images or conversations with children were found, Mr Bowker said.
The court heard that since his last court appearance, Beresford had begun a relationship with a woman who he had met online, and who has a young daughter.
Beresford's defence lawyer, Ronan Maguire told the court that many of his client's possessions had belonged to the defendant's late father.
Mr Maguire said: "Many of the possessions were his father’s who died before the conviction for the original offence and he inherited a number of devices.
"There were a number of items he did acquire during the operation of the order including a work laptop.
"He has had a struggle with his mental health over many years and has been hospitalised on at least one occasion.
"His mental health has suffered a great deal since the death of his father. He used to work for his father and came to rely on him a great deal."
Sentencing Beresford, Judge Michael Leeming said: "There is a risk to the public and adequate protection can only be served by a custodial sentence."
