Paedophile who sent sexual images to 'girl' jailed
Cambridgeshire PoliceA paedophile who struck up sexual conversations with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl has been jailed for two years and three months.
Shane Lander, 37, of Central Avenue, Peterborough, made contact on Facebook, but unbeknown to him, the 'girl' was a decoy from an online child activist group.
He was caught after he arranged to meet her and was instead met by the activist group, who seized his phone and called police.
Lander, who pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a girl under 16, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, inciting a girl in sexual activity and attempting to cause a child to look at an image of sexual activity was jailed at Peterborough Crown Court on 23 January.
According to Cambridgeshire Police, Lander sent a selfie of his face and asked for one in return, but he warned that due to her age, he had to "be careful", so instructed her not to tell her mum.
On 22 June, Lander told the girl he loved her, referred to her as "babe" and described himself as her boyfriend.
Lander later sent inappropriate pictures of himself and asked the girl to send similar pictures in return.
On 2 July, Lander said he would meet the girl, on her own, at a fast-food restaurant in Peterborough and he sent her a selfie, so she knew what he was wearing.
However, after Lander arrived on the bus, he was confronted by the activist group.
Det Con Caroline Murphy said: "Lander made it extremely clear he believed the decoy was a young teenage girl and would even ask her about her school day.
"It quickly became apparent there was a clear intent to commit sexual offences and thankfully he was caught and is now behind bars.
"We will continue to work tirelessly to keep children safe, and protecting young people from harm is one of our top priorities."
The court also made Lander the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and he was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for the same period.
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