COUNTY DURHAM MAN HANDED SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR ONLINE SEX OFFENCES AGAINST '12-YEAR-OLD' GIRL
A pervert who claimed he would travel 200 miles to have sex with a "12-year-old girl" in a park has been given a suspended prison sentence after walking free from court.Darron Wilkinson, of Murton, engaged in sexual chat online with what he believed to be a young girl but was actually an undercover police officer.
Wilkinson pleaded guilty to attempting to communicate sexually with a child, attempting to incite a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and arranging the commission of a child sex offence.
Sentenced to two years suspended for two years, he must also sign the sex offenders register and adhere to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.
The court heard that in July last year, an undercover police officer set up a profile on ChatIW pretending to be a 12-year-old girl.
Wilkinson contacted this profile and there was brief chatter before moving to WhatsApp.
He was informed from the start that the "girl" was 12 and he said he was 32.
Over the following days, he engaged in sexual conversations, asking about her home, school, and interests.
He inquired about what she was wearing and requested images, which she declined, but he later sent her an image of himself in boxer shorts.
Wilkinson also discussed sexual activities, outlined how she could carry out a sex act on herself, and expressed a desire to do it for her in the future.
He discussed showering together and touching her genitals, despite being told she had no sexual experience.
Wilkinson then arranged to travel from his home in Easington Lane to a park in Coventry, 200 miles away, asking her to wear "sexy underwear" and suggesting they would have sex in the trees.
He repeatedly asked for images of her underwear and even sent his own in boxer shorts.
The judge noted Wilkinson is a delivery driver who works and sleeps, and the court was told he had denied his actions, claiming his messages were "fantasies" and that he visited Blackpool with his partner the weekend he claimed to have planned to meet the girl.
