A PERVERT who arranged to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex has been jailed.

Gareth Roberts, from Whitecross, detailed disgraceful sex acts he wanted to perform on the youngster in a series of online chats.

But, unbeknown to him, he had actually been caught in a paedophile hunter string.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday, October 26, that a 17-year-old student set up the fake account on the Kik messaging platform posing as the teen in January last year.

Three days later, the profile was contacted by the defendant under the username GarethR.

Roberts, of Norley Close, asked the youngster if she was still wearing her school uniform and if he could 'have a look'.

When he was sent a picture of a girl in her schoolwear, he replied: "Looks sexy."

The paedophile asked if she would like to meet up him and suggested that he 'come round to her straight away' after being told that she was home alone.

Many of the details of the lewd chats which were read out in court are too graphic for publication.

But Roberts described several acts of vile abuse that he planned to carry out.

The 26-year-old asked the teenager to send explicit pictures of herself and sent images and videos of himself performing a sex act.

Eventually, he arranged to meet the girl at Subway in Stockton Heath under the agreement that the pair would go back to her empty home and have sex.

Roberts said that he would bring underwear for her to wear, as well as alcohol and cigarettes.

But he cancelled the meeting 'at the last minute', inventing an excuse that his dad was ill in hospital.

The sexually-charged conversations continued though, and the defendant sent a video of a woman performing a sex act on a man and said: "You're going to do the same thing."

Roberts later blocked the decoy account, after which the messages were handed over to the police.

He admitted attempting sexual communications with a child, attempting to arrange a child sex act and attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity and was handed two years and four months behind bars.

Sentencing, judge Rachel Smith said: "You did intend to meet the child for purposes of sexual activity with her.

"You lost your nerve at the last moment and cancelled the meeting.

"I observe the steps you have taken to begin to address your offending behaviour.

"But this is a very serious case.

"Clearly these offences cross the custody threshold."

Roberts – who has no previous convictions – was subjected to a five-year sexual harm prevention order and a 10-year notification requirement, and told to pay a victim surcharge.

Forfeiture and destruction of the laptop used in the commission of the offences was also ordered.