A paedophile was "hounded" from his home by neighbours after they found out he had been caught by paedophile hunters sending sexual messages to someone he thought was a child. He also arranged to meet the decoy at a railway station but cancelled at the last minute.
Michael Noakes, 63, of Wattsville, Caerphilly, began speaking with an account on social media and the person told him she was 12 years old and from Cardiff. It was in fact a decoy run by a member of the Dank Dragons group.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday heard they exchanged a number of messages in October 2021 before moving to WhatsApp. Noakes sent pictures of himself and the messages became more sexualised. Prosecutor Roger Griffiths said the defendant offered to "educate" the decoy sexually. She told him she was scared and he said he would look after her.
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Noakes they could "start with kissing and cuddling" before putting their hands on one another's bodies. He told her she could "put her hands on his penis and play with it" and the best place to do that would be on a bed. The defendant asked her for photos but she didn't send any.
Mr Griffiths said Noakes told her people like him "could get into trouble" and told her not to tell anyone about the messages. Arrangements were made to meet each other at Cardiff Central railway station on November 6 but he cancelled claiming he didn't have any money.
The defendant was identified by members of the Dank Dragons group and they attended his home in Woodland View on November 6. He wasn't there when they arrived but when he returned they confronted him and the police were called.
Noakes was arrested and the police searched his house and found the mobile phone he used to send the messages. He denied the offences and claimed he thought the person he was speaking to was an adult but he later admitted he believed she was 12 years old. He later pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and arranging a child sex offence. The court heard he had previous convictions dating back to the 1980s but they were not relevant.
Defence barrister Jeffrey Jones said his client had been suspended from his job as a carer as a result of the offences and had been "hounded" from his home by neighbours and had received threats. As a result he had been moved to a new address. He said the defendant was "remorseful and disgusted" by what he had done.
Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: "Generally speaking people who commit these offences go immediately into custody. But I am not going to send you to custody today."
Noakes was sentenced to a community order of three years. He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and sex offender notification requirements for five years.
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