A trucker has been jailed after trying to meet up with a child for sex in the back of his lorry.
Martin Harrison, aged 48, thought that he was meeting with a girl, 12, but it turned out to be an undercover police officer.
Harrison, from Walsall, West Midlands, sent explicit messages over an instant text platform to the officer who worked for Kent Police's Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), as reported by Birmingham Live.
Over the duration of a week in October 2019, Harrison encouraged the ' child ' to meet up with him for sex - despite being informed of her age at the very start of their conversation.
He said that he was due to travel to France by ferry on October 21, 2019, and asked to meet up with her in Dover town centre the evening before.
However, on arrival, Harrison was met by Kent Police who arrested him and took him into custody.
Harrison, of Valley Road, Walsall, later pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child, arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, and attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.
He was jailed for three years when he appeared for sentencing at Canterbury Crown Court on January 17 and was also made subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
Detective constable Leanne Carter, who was the investigating officer at Kent Police’s paedophile online investigation team, said: "Although no child was at risk in this particular case, the graphic nature of the messages sent by Martin Harrison leave no doubt in my mind that he poses a very real danger to children.
"Even though the subject of his conversation made it very clear she was only 12 years old, he persisted with his attempts to meet her for sex with scant regard for the devastating long-term impact such offences have on victims.
"I hope this case sends a clear message that law enforcement agencies like Kent Police and ERSOU have their eyes and ears everywhere, and that we will not hesitate to step in to help safeguard those who need our protection the most."
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