Man jailed for attempted child sex offences in Guildford
He was arrested after arranging to meet with what he believed to be a 13-year-old.
A man has been sentenced to 30 months behind bars after he travelled to Guildford Cathedral where he planned to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex.
63-year-old Anthony Dean of Hillend Drive, Hawick, Scotland pleaded guilty at Guildford Crown Court last month to one count of attempting sexual communication with a child and one count of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.
He was arrested on 24 September 2019 after he had travelled to Guildford Cathedral where he expected to meet and later have sex with a 13-year-old child, but was instead confronted by officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit.
As well as a custodial sentence, Dean has been placed on the sex offenders register and given a sexual harm prevention order to run in line with his registration period.
Detective Inspector Phil Attwood, from SEROCU, said: “The arrest of Dean was part of a proactive, intelligence led investigation relating to attempted sexual offences with a child during September 2019.
“In this case, there was never a real life victim and no children were in any danger, however Dean’s intentions were very clear.
DI Attwood added that the sentence “reflects the serious nature of the offences” and forms part of the unit’s “continued priority to protect children from sexual exploitation”.