A paedophile who groomed what he thought was a 14-year-old ‘girl’ and asked her to commit sex acts shook his head when told he was a danger to children.
Andrew Ratchford of Gainford Road, Knotty Ash, was found guilty after a four-day trial of one count of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and one count of attempting to incite a child to engage in a sexual act. He offered what he thought was a 14-year-old girl money and clothes and asked to meet at a hotel room but during the trial in January this year, the 43-year-old claimed he knew he was talking to a fake profile.
He said he only engaged with the online profile of a 14-year-old ‘girl’ named Kiera because he wanted to “get back at” the police and paedophile hunter groups. At the beginning of his sentencing hearing at Liverpool Crown Court, when asked to stand and confirm his name by the court clerk, Ratchford shook his head and said “sore back”.
