A man snared by paedophile hunters as he engaged in sexual online chat with who he thought was girl aged 14 has been jailed.
In August, 37-year-old Ryan Goulding, of Town View, Kendal, send a friend request to a Facebook profile in the name of a girl whose age was 14.
That profile had been set up by a member of a voluntary group attempting to identify people seeking out children online for the purpose of sexual gratification.
During initial online exchanges, Goulding described the girl as sexy and, when told she was 14, replied by saying he was around a decade younger than he actually was.
Goulding suggested that they meet, that he could pick her up from a train station and take her to parties. He asked whether she liked alcohol, and suggested a party drink of vodka and cocaine.
After the chat switched to WhatsApp, Goulding requested indecent pictures and also made a series of sexually explicit suggestions as the decoy amassed a wealth of evidence.
That information was handed over to Cumbria police along with voice notes containing more suggestive comments by Goulding, who was arrested and interviewed.
“He did answer questions in which he suggested he had been set up by a vengeful ex-partner,” prosecutor Stephen McNally told Carlisle Crown Court. “He denied knowing about the girl’s account and denied conversing with her. He denied having any sexual interest in children.”
When brought to court, Goulding admitted offences of attempted sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause of incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
He was sentenced today when a judge heard he had 34 previous convictions for 113 offences, the majority for dishonesty. There were no past sex crimes on his record.
Andrew Gurney, mitigating, spoke of Goulding’s disadvantaged upbringing and ongoing mental health issues in adult life.
“He is disgusted by his own behaviour. He is genuinely, truly remorseful for what he has done,” said Mr Gurney. “This will obviously have a significant impact on his life moving forward.”
Goulding was given a 45-month prison sentence by Recorder Eric Lamb.
He must sign the sex offenders’ register — and comply with the terms of a prevention order — indefinitely.
