A pervert who thought he was meeting up with a 14-year-old girl was snared by a group of paedophile hunters who confronted him before phoning the police.
Luke Porter arrived at a railway station to meet who he thought was a ‘young girl called Megan’ after texting sexually explicit messages to her over social media.
However, what he didn’t realise was that he was actually speaking to an undercover member of Newcastle Hunters, a vigilante group, which accosted him outside the train station.
The 18-year-old arrived at Darlington station only to be confronted by the group, who filmed the exchange, and called the cops.
Officers arrested Porter, who was previously of good character, and he was remanded in custody until his sentencing last month, report Hull Live.
He was charged with and admitted to attempting to communicate with a child to engage in sexual activity.
Teesside Crown Court heard how he had only turned 18 a matter of weeks before the incident occurred.
Paul Abrahams, prosecuting, told the court on April 21: “It’s fair to say that the conversation turned to sexual matters relatively quickly.
“There was then conversation arranging a meet at Darlington railway station.
“The defendant did indeed travel to the station to meet ‘Megan’ where he was then accosted by the group who were waiting for him there and identified him from a photograph he had sent. He was arrested by the police at 5pm on the January 25.”
Footage of the encounter has been shared on the Newcastle Hunters Facebook group where Porter tells the vigilantes he “doesn’t know why he did it” and says he is sorry.
He also initially claims that he didn’t know it was illegal and thought it was just “frowned upon”.
Sentencing Porter, of Beaumont Street West, to nine months in a young offenders’ institute, suspended for two years, Judge Timothy Stead said: “While this is an offence involving the concept of a sexual offence against a child, there was no actual child in this case.
“Nevertheless, what you did was an offence because you believed you were communicating with a 14-year-old girl - a girl who was previously a stranger to you.
“In fact you were communicating with an adult but this was to bring about justice in a case such as yours, where someone like you is only to willing to engage in sexual offending with children.”
Porter is now subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He has also been ordered to attend 25 rehabilitation requirement days.
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