March 2015 Stockton paedophile John Rudd jailed after Dark Justice group set trap to catch him A Stockton paedophile has been locked up for the “textbook grooming” of a schoolgirl. John Rudd sent a constant stream of flirty and sexual texts to an online profile which he thought belonged to a 14-year-old girl called Donna. But in fact the profile was operated by by two men and a camera, operating under the name Dark Justice. When he turned up to meet her at the Millennium Bridge, Rudd, 57, learned the girl didn’t exist and he had been messaging the vigilantes all along, who had reported him to police. Rudd was jailed for 12 months and made to sign the sex offenders’ register at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday. Prosecuting, Gavin Doig told how Rudd started speaking to the girl on online dating website Badoo before they exchanged numbers and started talking on WhatsApp. Rudd sent messages of a sexual nature over a three-week period before deciding to travel up from his home in Appleton Road, Stockton, to meet her, the court heard. He initially thought she was 24, but even when Donna told him she was in fact just 14 it did not deter Rudd’s advances, Mr Doig said. Messages included references to her body and sexual experiences. Rudd pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming when he appeared at court. Sentencing, Judge Penny Moreland said: “Very quickly in your exchanges with Donna she told you she was 14. Over a three-week period you were in constant contact which culminated in a planned meeting in Newcastle. “It is a textbook example of sexual grooming. “You were attentive, flattering, kind and thoughtful and you would turn the conversation sexual wherever you could.” Defending, Paul Caulfield said Rudd joined the site with the intention of meeting somebody of legal age for company and did not “seek out” underage girls. The court heard Rudd initially thought the girl was 24, until she admitted she was in fact just 14. Mr Caulfield said: “This is a 57-year-old man whose life is now in tatters. He bitterly regrets becoming involved in the way in which he did.” After the case, Dark Justice, whose operators wish to remain anonymous, defended the tactics used to lure Rudd in. They said: “It goes to show our methods work and we can do it. This man is in prison now and will never forget what he did. “At the end of the day, he knew he was talking to a 14-year-old so he must pay the ultimate price.” February 2015 Moment pervert, 57, is snared after he thought he was meeting up with 14-year-old schoolgirl This is the moment a pervert was snared by online vigilantes who tricked him into thinking he was meeting up with a 14-year-old girl. Internet group Dark Justice had set up a fake profile on dating website Badoo where they posed as a shy teenager. John Rudd had initially thought the profile belonged to an adult woman – but continued having increasingly sexual conversations when he was told she was under-age, Newcastle Crown Court heard. When the 57-year-old travelled from his home in Stockton, to a meet the girl called ‘Donna’ on the Millennium Bridge in Newcastle, he was confronted by vigilantes, who passed his information to the police. He admitted attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. Prosecutor Alec Burns told the court: ‘The case is a little unusual in that the actual people with whom he was communicating were two men in their 20s, members of a group Dark Justice. ‘They effectively set up a trap to trap paedophiles.’ Mr Burns said the Badoo website is aimed at adults and Rudd, who has no previous convictions, had initially believed he was speaking to a 19-year-old.  He added: ‘After a short time, three weeks, she told them she was in fact only 14. That did not stop the communications.’ Dark Justice later said that they revealed the age of the ‘girl’ within the first three messages. In the exchange, seen by MailOnline, Rudd asks ‘You at college x’ before Dark Justice reply: ‘no school I’m only 14. I signed up coz I struggle to make friends in the real world.’  The court heard Rudd started exchanging messages with the girl, who said she was inexperienced, on Whatsapp and he asked her increasingly personal questions. Mr Burns said Rudd asked questions about the girl’s underwear and suggested she wear none when they met up.  He added: ‘He suggested he should have a peek when they met and suggested when they met she should not be wearing any underwear.’ The judge requested more information about the case and proceedings were adjourned. Rudd, who was granted bail, will be sentenced next month.