'I've got a sick attraction... yes, I'm a stupid idiot'

A "lonely" online predator who lost his job after being caught in a sting by paedophile hunters has been spared jail.

Former Waitrose supermarket worker Simon Barnard, 56, admitted having a sick attraction to "borderline females" after sending messages via WhatsApp and Facebook inviting a 14-year-old girl to his house to drink wine and “f***”.

However, he walked free from court last Wednesday (December 4) after a judge accepted he had shown ''true remorse'' for his actions. Chester Crown Court was told the sting operation took place on October 22 of last year after Barnard began chatting with investigators from the paedophile hunters group who were posing as the schoolgirl.

READ MORE: Huge search operation underway for missing man, 25, last seen at Greater Manchester pub

Prosecutor Laura Knightly said: “The conversation was with a decoy who informed the defendant on several occasions that she was 14 years of age. Despite this the defendant engaged in sexually explicit communication.

"He asked if she played with herself and asked her to come to his house to drink wine and f***. The defendant engaged in messages first on Facebook and there were further WhatsApp messages.

“Police officers attended the location and the defendant was arrested. When asked if he was responsible for the exchanges he said, ‘Yes, I am a stupid idiot'. He said he had consumed two bottles of red wine and could not remember what happened but recalled talking sexually to her.

"He could not remember her name or what she looked like. He did not think of her as a 14-year-old girl. In his head she was a 30-year-old woman.''

Barnard, of Mill Green, Congleton, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

David Farley, representing Barnard, told the court: “He does show insight and remorse into his offending behaviour. It was limited to one conversation.

“The defendant was honest about attraction to borderline females. He has had age appropriate relationships up until the last 18 months. The writer of the report says he has low self-esteem, he is isolated and lonely, he lives alone.

“As a result of this conviction, he has lost his job. He worked for Morrisons and then worked for Waitrose. He values his routine and this has caused difficulties emotionally. He has also been anxious about this court appearance.

“Principally, the problem with Mr Barnard is his alcohol use which has become problematic. He drank too much leading up to this offence.

“Since then, he has been taking steps to try and address that by contacting local agencies and his GP. I do concede this offence does attract a custodial sentence but this is not an ingrained predilection from the defendant. He is considered a low risk of reconviction and he has shown remorse.''

Sentencing Barnard, Recorder Eric Lamb ordered Barnard to complete 20 rehabilitation activity days, the Building Choices accredited programme, and and a six-month alcohol treatment requirement. He was also given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, which includes supervision of his use of digital devices, and told to sign on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.

The judge said: “You chose to engage in sexually explicit dialogue with the decoy. As far as those messages are concerned, they were persistent and detailed.

"You did offer some explanation that you’d had two bottles of red wine and you could not remember exactly what happened but at the time of your communication you were not so inebriated that you were unable to communicate with the decoy.

''You were not under any illusion about the age of the decoy and the fact that the conversation was sexual is patent from the messages that have been preserved. In my judgement this is a demonstration of someone who gave into the feelings that he had on October 22 but rapidly came to regret his actions the next day.

"You have demonstrated true remorse. I am not satisfied that you fall into the category of dangerous offender.