Pervert snared twice by paedophile hunter group in Leeds

Leeds Crown Court heard 41-year-old Domenyk Hargreaves was arrested by police - but within weeks he used the same social media app to speak to who he thought was a 14-year-old girl in Leeds.

Proscecutor, Kirstie Watson, said Hargreaves, of Holdforth Court, Brussels Street, Leeds city centre, communicated with 12-year-old Jodie after logging on to her fake account set up by a paedophile hunter group on a social media application.

Miss Watson said he engaged in sexual conversation with her despite the fact that she had told him she was aged 12.

The court heard Hargreaves arranged to met Jodie at Leeds bus station on February 11 and a group of people from the paedophile hunter group travelled to Leeds to confront him.

Police were called and Hargreaves was arrested. He was still under police investigation on March 13 when he made contact with who he believed was a 14-year-old girl called Katie on the same social media app.

Katie arranged to meet Hargreaves on March 31, when members of the group again confronted Hargreaves and he was arrested by police.

Hargreaves admitted five charges of attempting to incite a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity; one charge of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and two charges of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. Mitigating, Kenton Sargeant, said: “The defendant is truly ashamed and sorry to be here.” Jailing Hargreaves for two-years-and-four-months, judge Robin Mairs told him: “You were prepared to meet with what you believed to be a 12-year-old girl and do so for sexual purposes.” Hargreaves’ name will be on the sex offender register for ten years.