A pervert has been jailed after trying to meet a schoolgirl for sexual activity.
Liam Williamson made contact with a profile called Laurie on a dating app called Skout and was told she was 14, rather than 18 as advertised.
Despite this, he engaged in sexual chat with her and went on to arrange to meet her at McDonald's in Blyth.
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The Laurie profile was actually being run by vigilante group Guardians of the North, who were waiting to confront Williamson and rang the police.
Now the 28-year-old, of Langley Avenue, Blyth, Northumberland, who has some additional learning needs, has been locked up for 13 months at Newcastle Crown Court for attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.
Omar Ahmad, prosecuting, said Williamson contacted the profile in May 2019 and the chat moved onto WhatApp.
Mr Ahmad said: "The defendant, on multiple occasions, suggested to Laurie she should go to his house in Blyth, telling her to get the bus and he would meet her at the bus-stop and sent her a picture of bus times.
"He acknowledged she was underage and he would get into trouble for touching her and said 'I would not touch you unless you wanted to be touched'."
He also said: "I could show you how to touch yourself but don't tell your mam or anyone, okay?"
He asked her to send him pictures in her bra and knickers and of her genitals and then arranged to meet her.
When arrested, he said he would not have touched her unless she wanted him to.
As well as the prison sentence, Williamson, who has no previous convictions will be subject to sex offender registration and a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.
Peter Schofield, defending, said Williamson is vulnerable and had an appropriate adult with him when interviewed by police.
He added: "When he became involved in this offending he was at an all time low and had recently lost his employment.
"He worked for two-and-a-half years in a hotel and is not workshy.
"He was isolated and the reality is what happened here is he let the situation spiral out of control when he should have known better, he being the adult.
"Custody fills him with dread, he is very worried and concerned about the effect custody will have on him. He will be vulnerable in custody."
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