A married dad who arranged to meet a 13 year old schoolgirl after contacting her on the internet was caught in a sting carried out by a vigilante group, Lincoln Crown Court was told.
Jordan Huitson travelled to Mansfield to see what he believed to be a teenage girl called Sarah.
But when he arrived at the planned meeting place at the car park of a KFC in the town he found himself confronted by members of the Predator Hunter group.
Tony Stanford, prosecuting, said the group had set up a decoy account on a chatlog in the name of Sarah using a profile photograph of a girl purporting to be 13 years old.
During their online conversations "Sarah" repeatedly told him she was only 13 and was scared but he continued to contact her.
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He asked her for a photograph and suggested they meet up telling her "nothing will happen. Just chat".
Mr Stanford said "They agreed to meet up at the KFC car park in Mansfield.
"The defendant went there. In that car park he was approached by members of the Predator Hunters. Those members then attended at his home address and the police were called."
Huitson was later interviewed by police and claimed he wanted to meet her to ensure that she came off the site and said he was shocked that a 13 year old was having such conversations.
Jordan Huitson, 25, of Broughton Drive, Newark, admitted charges of attempted sexual communication with a child and attempting to meet a child following grooming. The offences took place between 26 September and 1 October 2017.
Mark Watson, in mitigation, said that what happened was an isolated incident which had not been repeated by Huitson.
"His arrest has been something of a wake-up call for him. It has brought things home to him. He had been married and they have a young child.
"As a result of this being all over social media there were people walking up and down the street where he was living. As a result of that he moved out of the matrimonial home although he remains fully in the marriage and his wife is supportive of him. He moved to protect her well-being and the well-being of his child.
"He lost his employment as a result of this but has since found alternative work."
Huitson was given a nine month jail sentence suspended for two years with a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 40 days. He was also ordered to complete a sex offender treatment programme. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.
Judge Simon Hirst, passing sentence, told him "If I send you to prison for nine months you would be released within a very short period of time. The specialist systems of the probation service would effectively be denied to you. The intention is that by getting that specialist expert help your risk to the public in the future will be limited."
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