May 2017 Pervert caught by Guardians of the North meeting ’15-year-old schoolgirl’ A PERVERT compared himself to disgraced former England footballer Adam Johnson when he was caught on camera trying to meet someone he thought was an underage teen. Garry Baker believed he had been sending sex chat to a 15-year-old girl over dating site Badoo but had been duped by online paedophile hunters Guardians of the North. When the 24-year-old turned up at a McDonald’s car park in Sunderland to meet the child, he was confronted by the group who had a video camera in tow and the police on their way. Baker told the group, while being filmed: “I look at the things that have happened with Adam Johnson and things like that and I have done exactly the same thing. I have been really stupid.” Former Sunderland player Johnson is currently serving a six year prison sentence after he was found guilty of sexual activity with an underage girl in March 2015. At Newcastle Crown Court Baker, of Allendale Drive, South Shields, pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity. Prosecutor Emma Dowling told the court Baker, who had never been in trouble before, was carrying a condom when he turned up to meet the child but there wass a “question” over exactly what would have happened if a teenager actually turned up as he had voiced concern about her age during the messages. Miss Dowling told the court the Guardians of the North group had set up a profile on adult website Badoo last June and Baker, who said he was an apprentice mechanic, had made contact. He initially cut contact when he was told “Katie” was a 15-year-old schoolgirl from Sunderland, but got in touch again over a fortnight later. Miss Dowling said the conversations veered between “banal and sexual”, with discussions about school and football and Baker asking questions about the girl’s underwear and her sexual experience. On July 15 Baker asked the girl if she wanted “to have sex” and told her “I’m game if you are”, despite knowing her age. He then appeared to change his mind about sex and told her “I could go to prison” but said he still wanted to meet up. Miss Dowling added: “When he went to meet the girl in question, he was met by Guardians of the North.” Baker confessed he had contacted “Katie” during police questioning and that he knew she was underage but said he would not have done anything sexual with her if she had turned up. Judge Stephen Earl sentenced Baker to a community order for two years with a sex offender registration and sexual harm prevention order for five years.