Harrogate man caught in police sting wanted to meet boy for sex
- Published
Police said Paul Warren's intentions were "distressingly clear", police say
A man who plotted to meet and abuse what he thought was a teenage boy was caught in an undercover police sting.
Paul Warren, from Harrogate, believed he was messaging a 14-year-old but instead was chatting with officers.
He suggested they meet in McDonald's and then drive to a car park for sex.
The 53-year-old pleaded guilty at Teesside Crown Court to arranging to commit a child sex offence and was given a 16-month jail term, suspended for two years.
Police said when Warren, of Park Drive, arrived at the proposed meeting place, he was immediately arrested.
Det Con Kerrie Jones, from North Yorkshire Police's Online Abuse Team, said Warren's intentions "were distressingly clear".
"He suggested a sexual encounter within minutes of starting a conversation and it was obvious from his actions that he had every intention of meeting a teenaged boy so he could sexually abuse him," she added.
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