The man who is only now 'beginning to come to terms with the consequences of his actions'

A man who arranged to meet an ‘11-year-old girl’ after speaking to her online has been hauled before the courts.

Xavier Carter, 30, told the ‘child’ that he would book a hotel room for them, buy something ‘sexy’ for her and even sent her an intimate picture, Manchester Crown Court heard.

He believed the girl was 11. It was in fact an adult woman posing as a decoy as part of a paedophile hunter group.

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Carter, of Chester, admitted an offence of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. He was handed a suspended sentence.

Prosecuting, Tom Farr said that in May 2023, Carter sent a friend request to the Facebook account depicting an 11-year-old girl. It was actually being run by an adult woman as part of a vigilante group.

“It exists solely for the purpose of ‘searching for sexual predators’,” Mr Farr summarised.

Carter and the ‘girl’ engaged in conversation, with her making it clear that she was underage. He said he was 18, when he was actually 30 at the time.

He made reference to booking a hotel room and buying alcohol for them. After they moved onto WhatsApp the conversation was more sexual, the court heard.

“The defendant made reference to ‘buying something sexy’ for her to wear. He encouraged her to send a picture of herself and said if they were together he would ‘kiss and cuddle her’,” Mr Farr continued.

He also spoke to her about various sexual positions, encouraged her to meet him ‘on her own’ and sent her a picture of his genitals. Carter was stung by the group when he arranged to meet the ‘girl’ in Fallowfield later that year.

David Bentley, mitigating, said his client had taken steps to rehabilitate himself by working on the ‘Safer Lives’ course.

“There was a deterioration in his relationship of five years, and he had used Facebook to befriend females over 18. He could say this was loneliness but he knew exactly the age of the individual he was talking to,” he added.

He added that Carter, who had no previous convictions, was open to rehabilitation.

Sentencing him, Recorder Alexander Leach KC said: “You are beginning to come to terms with the consequences of your actions.”

Carter, of Larkspur Close, Lache, in Chester, was handed ten months imprisonment which was suspended for 18 months. He must also complete 26 sessions of the Building Choices programme, 20 days of rehabilitation activity requirements and 200 hours unpaid work.

He was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years and ordered to sign onto the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.