PAUL RICKSON

A convicted paedophile has been sentenced to 26 months in prison after being caught three times by online vigilantes when he attempted to meet what he believed was a 12-year-old girl.

The incident occurred on October 7 last year in Reading, Berkshire, with Rickson facing members of the group 'Confronted and Caught,' who filmed the confrontation.

Prosecutor Jane Davies stated that Rickson used his Facebook account to contact four females aged 12 to 14, during which he requested sexual images and acts, providing his contact details.

The most serious offence involved him arranging to meet one of the girls.

When police arrived to arrest him, they found evidence that Rickson had been communicating with two other social media accounts, which he thought belonged to young girls but were actually operated by adults from the vigilante group.

This was part of his repeated failures in attempting to meet children, having been convicted three times for a total of ten offences, including incidents in 2016 and 2019.

In 2016, Rickson was charged with attempting to encourage a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity, and he was given a community order along with a sexual harm prevention order lasting five years.

In 2019, he was convicted again for breaching his SHPO and trying to incite a child under 13 to sexual activity, resulting in a 16-month jail sentence.

During his latest sentencing hearing, Judge Sarah Campbell reflected that Rickson's actions showed an increased risk to minors, and his lawyer described him as a vulnerable individual with difficulty forming relationships of his age.

Rickson, living in Wokingham, admitted to charges including sexual communication with children, attempting to meet a child after grooming, and breaching his SHPO.

The judge found him to be a dangerous offender and sentenced him accordingly, requiring him to serve two-thirds of his sentence before parole eligibility, with an additional four years of extended licence conditions.

The judge also highlighted that Rickson did not fully understand the gravity of his offences or the harm they could cause, which heightened the view of the threat he posed to children.