A MAN was set up by paedophile hunters after they posted a fake Facebook account of a 14-year-old girl online.

Christopher James, 46, started sending messages to ‘Shelley’ telling her she was “cute and sexy”.

Laurence Jones, prosecuting, said the unnamed paedophile hunter group informed Gwent Police they were going to confront the defendant and he was arrested in July 2019.

He told Cardiff Crown Court: “The decoy set up an account for a 14-year-old girl called Shelley and it lay dormant until there was a friend request on July 18.

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“There was a message from the defendant, ‘Hey babe, how are you?’ She said, ‘I’m 14.’

“He wrote, ‘You are so cute and sexy babe xxx.’”

In another exchange, Mr Jones said ‘Shelley’ asked the defendant, ‘Are you cool about me being 14? Some people call me a kid. It’s annoying.’

“He replied, ‘I would like to look after you and treat you. You are a lovely woman.’”

The prosecutor added how James said, “he wished he was in bed with her”.

When he was arrested, the defendant told the police: “I shouldn’t have done it.”

Mr Jones said: “He was very frank in interview. He said he liked children aged 13 and 14.

“The defendant said he was fully responsible for making the sexual comments and used his phone to look for young girl online.

“He said he would text nice and good-looking girls. He said because Shelley was good-looking, he felt nervous when texting her.”

The defendant, of High Street, Rhymney, Caerphilly, pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child.

James had no previous convictions.

Jeffrey Jones, mitigating, said his client had “maturity issues”.

Judge Richard Twomlow told James: “What you did was very wrong. When the police interviewed you, you were very truthful.”

The defendant was sentenced to a two-year community order.

James must complete a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement and pay a £90 surcharge.

He will have to register as a sex offender for five years and be the subject of a sexual harm prevention order until 2025.