(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A self-confessed paedophile messaged a 'teacher' to try and arrange the possible rape of a child, and told a '12-year-old girl' he wanted to 'get closer'.
But it turned out James Madgin was messaging police decoys in three chat room exchanges between November and January, all centred around his fantasy of having sex with a child.
Teesside Crown Court heard the messaged an undercover officer posing as 12-year-old “Poppy”.
He told the 'girl' he was a “paedo” and discussed the possibility of sexual activity with her, “if the two of us get closer”, even though he acknowledged to ‘her’ that it was against the law.
Another of his exchanges was with what he believed was a teacher called "Chris". The 'teacher' claimed to have sexually abused a 12-year-old girl, to which Madgin replied: “Oh, nice”.
He replied in graphic terms what he would like to do to the 12-year-old and suggested they could meet at an Airbnb if the teacher brought the girl.
Madgin said he knew from being a teenager that he was a paedophile and he was “definitely up for the idea” of meeting “Chris” and the child.
The third decoy with whom Madgin was in discussion was supposedly the mother of young children, who claimed to have been sexually active with her seven-year-old daughter since she was a baby.
Madgin replied that he was interested in children, preferably aged nought to five, but he said he was “flexible” and it could be up to the age of nine.
Although he said he had no experience of abusing children, he said he hoped it would happen one day.
He said that since the age of 13 he had feelings of being a paedophile, which he had fought, but with which he had come to terms with for the last two years.
The court heard that Madgin told the 'mum' he wanted sexual intercourse with her seven-year-old daughter. He also asked for the girl to send him an explicit voicemail.
Police visited Madgin’s home near Durham in February and removed two laptops and a mobile phone, on which almost 1,000 indecent images of children, both still and moving, were found, with 534 in the most serious category.
The 41-year-old, of The Crescent in Sherburn Village, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, two counts of attempting to arrange the commission of a child sex offence, plus three of possessing indecent images of children.
He was said to have a still-supportive wife.
But Judge Andrew Hatton said Madgin's one previous conviction was “of relevance” as it related to possession and distribution of indecent photos of children, plus causing or inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity, for which he was jailed for eight months, and ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years, in August 2009.
Judge Hatton said trying to arrange the rape of a child was the most serious offence now faced by the defendant.
“There was a significant degree of planning, and you acted, or would have acted, together with others with whom you would commit this offence.”
The judge said although the evidence suggests the defendant poses a significant risk of causing serious sexual harm to children, he was satisfied a determinate sentence should provide “adequate public protection.”
Imposing a total seven-year prison sentence, Judge Hatton said Madgin would have to serve two-thirds of that, four years and eight months, before being released on licence.
Madgin will also be subject to both registration as a sex offender and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, both for life.
The judge also ordered forfeiture and destruction of the devices on which the defendant committed the offences.