Married Leeds father snared by paedophile hunters after grooming 14-year-old girl

Leeds Crown Court heard Haider Hussain, 25, spotted a girl's photograph and profile on web app ‘WeChat’ on October 19 last year.

Prosecutor, Robert Stevenson, said Hussain, who admitted attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming, engaged in sexual conversation with the girl called ‘Paige’ on WeChat and WhatsApp.

Mr Stevenson, said: “During their conversations Paige made it clear she was only 14-years-of-age. The defendant asked several times to meet Paige."

The court heard Hussain, of Edinburgh Grove, Armley, arranged to meet Paige on Kirkstall Road in Leeds at 11.30am on November 18 last year.

Mr Stevenson said Lisa Marshall from Justice for Kids and another witness went to meet Hussain and detained him until police arrived.

The court heard Hussain has a wife and child who live abroad and he has not told his wife about his arrest.

Mitigating, Robin Frieze, said: "He lives at home with his parents. He tells me he has never had any other social media contact with any female of whatever age."

Mr Frieze added: "He was flattered by the contact and her interest in him. He appears in all other respects to be a hard-working young man who is unlikely to be involved in criminal activity of any kind.

"He is clearly shocked and chastened by what he did. He is horrified of where this has led him and terrified about the prospect of a prison sentence."

The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC sentenced Hussain to a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two-years and told him he must complete an accredited group work programme to address his sexual offending.

Judge Collier told Hussain: "You have pleaded guilty to a serious offence, attempting to meet what you believed to be a young girl aged 14, having groomed her throughout a month's worth of chat on WhatsApp where you had been talking in sexual terms with her in the hope that there might be some sexual activity come out of that."

"This was a fictional person. You had been caught by one of these paedophile hunting groups, which seem to patrol the net these days."