Kettering paedophile drove more than 100 miles to meet '13-year-old girl'

An army veteran from Kettering chatted with a '13-year-old girl' about having sex before driving more than 100 miles to meet her.

Richard Smith promised her sweets and said he could wear a condom because he didn't want her to get pregnant.

He travelled to Greater Manchester after telling her he could 'teach her how to play' – but all along he was speaking to a paedophile hunter and he sped off when he realised there was no teenager waiting for him.

On Friday (August 5) the paedophile was put behind bars for three years after admitting four child sex offences.

Northampton Crown Court heard the 66-year-old was using online chat site Waplog in September last year when he messaged an account which purported to be a 13-year-old girl named Abbi. It was in fact a decoy profile set up by a group who were aiming to snare online child sex offenders.

Prosecutor Andrew Howarth said Smith, formerly of Headlands, used his own picture and told Abbi she was pretty before asking if she had a boyfriend or girlfriend.

When Abbi said no and asked if he had a girlfriend, Smith said: "You offering then, lol?"

As the conversation progressed the paedophile, who took a holdall into the dock in anticipation of a prison spell, began to make sexual comments. He said he could be ‘funny, flirty, naughty, cheeky or serious’ but admitted Abbi was 'a little young' to be chatting about sex. The court heard he then explained to her at length how she could perform a sex act on herself and encouraged her to try it, before doing the same when the chat moved to WhatsApp.

Days later, after making a comment about a picture of Abbi in her school uniform, he told her: "I cannot help to be cheeky and flirty lol. If I was younger I would love you as a girlfriend...you can have online kisses to make you feel better."

He also told her he was performing a sex act on himself at the same time and asked if she had ever seen a penis before sending a picture of his own.

On October 26 the prospect of meeting up was first discussed. Smith told the teenager he could drive somewhere where they could chat and get something to eat and drink or 'something else'.

He said: "If you want I can teach you how to play."

The following day he apologised and said they shouldn’t meet because Abbi was only 13 – but just an hour later he was again encouraging her to perform lewd acts.

There was a further discussion about meeting at a pub in Cheadle, with Smith believing the girl lived in Oldham. On October 31 he said he couldn’t travel to see her as his van had broken down but that he would rearrange the meet when it had been repaired.

By November 4 Smith told Abbi he would bring her sweets when they met before yet more discussion about sex.

When Abbi said she didn’t want to fall pregnant Smith said he could wear a condom, telling her: "You will be okay, I would not want to hurt you or get you pregnant."

They later arranged to meet in Greater Manchester at 1pm on November 7 and that morning Smith messaged Abbi to say he was on his way.

The woman who was controlling Abbi’s profile was waiting for him and spotted him at a petrol station just across the road from where they had agreed to meet.

But at 12.55pm, just before the meeting was due to take place, he drove away at high speed and blocked Abbi’s profile. ANPR cameras had picked up his journey from Kettering to Greater Manchester and back.

Mr Howarth said: "He had travelled to the area with the intention of meeting Abbi.

"Whether he thought better of it at the last moment or because of the presence of the paedophile hunter cannot be determined."

Smith’s actions were then reported to the police and he was arrested after being stopped in his vehicle on February 5 this year.

Mitigating, Liam Muir said Smith was a man of previous good character and had served his country for six years in the army.

He raised concerns post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in a war zone, that he has had multiple heart attacks and that he had shown genuine remorse.

The court heard Smith’s offences carried a starting point of five years in prison under sentencing guidelines – but Mr Muir urged Recorder Balraj Bhatia QC to take an exceptional course of action by not sending him to prison.

He said: "There is clearly a significant prospect of rehabilitation."

But Recorder Bhatia QC ruled the paedophile’s crimes could only be punished by a custodial sentence, which he reduced to three years because of his mitigation and guilty plea.

He told Smith: "You travelled a significant distance in your campervan.

"Having got to the pre-arranged destination it was obvious that there was no 13-year-old girl across the road and the only inference that can properly be drawn is that you realised that it was not quite what it seemed."

Smith will serve half of his sentence in custody before being released on licence.

He will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years and be on the register for sex offenders for life.