A PAEDOPHILE who groomed a schoolgirl for sex over the internet has been warned he faces jail.
The conviction of Paul Collins, 40, follows a series of Manchester Evening News stories in partnership with our sister media stations – Real Radio and Channel M – is designed to make the internet a safer place for children.
The Websafe campaign aimed to encourage parents to monitor their children's use of websites.
Today the father of Collins' teenage victim, from Salford, said: "It is hard to monitor what children are up to on the internet these days, but it can be an evil world out there.
"Anything that can be done to raise awareness of this issue I would welcome. It is also hard for parents because children do not tell them anything.
Dangerous
"Children will be children but do not realise how dangerous it can be out there. I would urge all parents to take safeguards."
Collins, a plant hire company worker, broke down in tears at Bolton Crown Court as he pleaded guilty to meeting a child following sexual grooming over the internet and two counts of sexual activity with the girl, who was a teenager at the time.
Collins admitted 10 counts of making indecent images of children and possessing a computer library of thousands of indecent images of young children.
The girl's father said his daughter began chatting to Collins on internet sites, including social messaging network MSN. She divulged personal details to him, including her address.
Collins travelled to Greater Manchester from his home in Surrey in 2007. The girl's father was out when they met at her home, but Collins was snared by a CCTV system in the house.
The girl said she knew him only as Paul and met him on an internet chatroom. Police said he knew the girl was underage.
Collins will be sentenced in January.
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Careless Whisper (23/11/2009 at 09:41)
tiggerluc, somewhere in shaw (23/11/2009 at 10:10)
A nice 20 year stretch would be a good start - with a dash of chemical castration thrown in for good measure.
But I bet the Judge will give him a pathetic sentence that has no relevance to the heinious crime this pervert has committeed.
Stevedore, Quayside (23/11/2009 at 10:12)
should apply to computers they should be licenced so that teens cannot be allowed to use them without a licence until they are 16.
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And how would you enforce that? You can't ban everything simply because some people misuse or abuse it. Would you want alcohol completely banned because some people can't control their behaviour after drinking alcohol.
Careless Whisper (23/11/2009 at 10:15)
Sam Anderson (23/11/2009 at 11:55)
Steve an alternative view (23/11/2009 at 14:29)
garfield (23/11/2009 at 15:56)