Man went to station to meet girl, 12, for sex
Northumbria PoliceA man who went to a station to meet what he thought was a 12-year-old girl he wanted to perform "unspeakable sexual acts" upon, has been jailed for two years eight months.
Connor Dorritt, 22, was actually met at Newcastle's Central Station by a "vigilante group" who had set up a decoy profile of a girl to catch child abusers online, the city's crown court heard.
Dorritt, from Gateshead, had befriended the profile and offered money in exchange for sex, but told her not to tell anyone or he would be arrested, the court heard.
He admitted attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity and possessing indecent images of children.
Dorritt made contact with the profile online on 21 December 2023 with the message "hey baby, how are you doing", prosecutor David Povall said.
He spoke to what he thought was the girl daily for several weeks and was repeatedly told she was 12, the court heard.
Dorritt suggested the girl come to his home to "hug" and "play games" involving a blindfold, the court heard, and offered her up to £50 for pictures of herself.
He then moved on to discussing carrying out sexual acts with her for which he offered money in exchange, the court heard.
Dorritt said she could use the cash he gave her to pay for the train ticket to get to his home, Povall said.
'Acknowledged her extreme youth'
"He encouraged her to keep this secret,"the prosecutor said, adding "she must not tell anybody" as if she did, he "could be arrested 'because of the age'".
Dorritt went to a coffee shop at the station on 29 February 2024 expecting to meet the girl but was instead confronted by "members of the vigilante group", the court heard.
"This was a concerted effort to meet a 12-year-old child for the purposes of [sex]," Povall said.
Police were called and he was arrested, the court heard.
Four indecent videos of children were found on his phone totalling 16 minutes, one in the most serious category and three in the second tier, involving children aged 10 to 13, Povall said.
Recorder Paul Reid said Dorritt's messages to the girl over a two-month period were "deeply sexualised" and the paedophile "acknowledged her extreme youth" and referred to it "many times".
"It is quite clear you had sexual interest in very young children," the judge said, adding Dorritt had gone to the station expecting to meet a 12-year-old child to "perform unspeakable sexual acts upon".
Dorritt must also sign the sex offender register and comply with a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.
