A child sex offender caught by a couple of self-appointed ‘paedophile hunters’ who set up a fake profile of a young girl has been jailed.
Neil and Katie Ivall created the fictitious teen to meet and ‘expose’ suspected child sex offenders in public places.
In the last three months alone they have filmed encounters with at least six men who have arranged to meet the imaginary youngster.
One of them was Leslie Turner, 54, who was arrested after arranging to meet a 14-year-old girl called ‘Lisa Fisher’ at the train station in Luton, Beds., in July.
Instead he was met by Neil Ivall and two women wearing Guy Fawkes’ masks, who detained him and seized his phone.
A video clip shows Mr Ivall confronting Turner and asking him how he feels, to which he responds: “Ashamed, for coming down here.”
Turner adds: “I was teasing her, I wasn’t going to go through with anything. I was only going to talk to her.
“I shouldn’t have done it…contact her.”
Turner, of Luton, Beds., pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child through sexual grooming at Luton Crown Court in August.
The court was told during Facebook chats Turner asked the girl her favourite sex position and said he was old enough to be her grandfather.
The fake girl sent him two indecent photographs.
Turner was jailed for 14 months at the same court this week and made to sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.
He was also banned from having contact with children in person or over the internet.
Turner was the first of two men from Luton to face the courts after being apprehended by the Ivalls.
Lee Hardey, 41, also organised to meet what he thought was a 12 year-old girl for sex and was confronted by the Ivalls who handed footage over to police.
Hardey, of Luton, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming at the city’s Crown Court in September and was warned he faces jail.
The Ivalls, from Dunstable, Beds., decided to ‘catch’ paedophiles after Neil’s daughter became a target online.
They created a fictional schoolgirl and were inundated with messages, which still continue to flood in.
Katie responds to those who get in touch, many of whom later ask to meet the ‘young girl’ and screenshots are taken of the lewd chat logs.
The couple strongly deny accusations of entrapment and Katie, 30, a beautician, said: “There is no entrapment at all – it is purely them who choose to talk that way or ask to meet, it is their choice.”
Alex House, of Bedfordshire Police, said: “While we are pleased that this case has resulted in a potential offender being locked up, we would urge people to never take the law into their own hands.”
The couple have conducted ‘stings’ across the country.
Their first meeting came with Peter McCallum, 33, from Coventry, who later handed himself in to police.
He pleaded guilty to charges of communicating and attempting to meet two girls under the age of 16 and is being sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on September 21.
The force added that those not familiar with the legal system “could put cases in jeopardy and run the risk of genuine offenders not being brought to justice”.
Despite the warning, Neil insists that he and Katie have had the support of officers who have responded to their 999 calls.
Builder Neil, 38, said: “The police have not got the time or resources to do what we do, they tell us that themselves.”
