Peadophile snared after snooping dad set up Facebook page as teenage girl to keep tabs on step-daughter

A protective father helped snare a peadophile after setting up a Facebook page as a teenage girl in a bid to keep tabs on his step-daughter.

Peter McCallum pleaded guilty to two charges of attempting to meet under-age girls following sexual grooming.

The 33-year-old, of Coventry, has been jailed for 32 months and ordered to register as a sex offender for life, reports the Telegraph.

Peadophile, McCallum thought he was communicating with a girl called Sophie

Prosecutor Tom Kenning said McCallum thought he was communicating with a girl called Sophie, but the Facebook page had actually been set up by a man in Bedfordshire.

Despite repeatedly being told she was underage, Peter McCallum persisted with his contact, telling her: “Don’t worry, I like young girls.His actions had arisen out of concerns for his step-daughter after she had been to a wrestling match, as a result of which he wanted to check on who was in her ‘friends’ group.

The ‘girl’ quickly became targeted by McCallum who, despite repeatedly being told she was underage, persisted with his contact, telling her: “Don’t worry, I like young girls” and gave her his phone number.

McCallum’s communication with ‘Sophie’ increased, and he sent her an intimate photo and asked what she was wearing and if she had sisters, said Mr Kenning.

Told she was with an 11-year-old friend, he also began to communicate directly with that girl, or so he thought, and said he wanted to have sexual activity with them, e arranged to meet both girls and suggested they could go to a field near his home.

But instead it was the step-dad and his partner who turned up and the police were called and McCallum was arrested.

Daniel Oscroft, defending, said: “He accepts he is attracted to young girls. It’s not something he wants to have or wants to do.

“He was suffering from depression at the time. He’d lost five family members in succession over a couple of months.

"That formed the catalyst for this descent into aberrant behaviour.”

Mr Oscroft said McCallum, who has never had an intimate relationship with anyone, recognises he has got a problem and at present poses a danger to young girls.

Culled from Telegraph UK