Bexhill pervert jailed for grooming schoolgirl

Maintenance worker Bruce Child, 63, of Jameson Road, pleaded guilty to grooming the child online, and planning to meet the 12-year-old in Leicester for sexual activity on November 20 last year.

He also pleaded guilty to two offences of making indecent images of children.

Child was sentenced at Hove Crown Court to three years imprisonment for the grooming offence, and sentences of three and six months for the indecent images offences, both to run concurrently with the grooming sentence.

He will be a registered sex offender for life and was issued with a Sexual Offence Prevention Order, to last until further court order, severely restricting his access to children and computers.

None of the indecent images, taken from the internet, are believed to be of local children.

The sentencing follows an investigation by detectives from the East Sussex Safeguarding Investigation Unit and the force Complex Abuse Unit.

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