Sex offender from Leeds arrested after he set up meeting with 'four-year-old girl' during undercover police operation

Sean Hamill travelled from his home in Morley to Sheffield in his work's van after contacting an undercover West Yorkshire Police officer posing online as a mum of two young daughters

Leeds Crown Court heard Hamill made contact with the officer in a chatroom using the name 'uknastydom' in May this year.

Christopher Knox, prosecuting, said: "He asked her if she had kids and, chillingly, expressed the view that he 'liked them really young.'"

The officer told Hamill that she had two young children and a four-year-old goddaughter.

During the conversions with the officer Hamill discussed wanting to have sexual contact with children and sent repeated requests for pictures and videos of the four-year-old child.

Ten days after Hamill made initial contact with the woman he arranged to meet her and the child in Sheffield.

Hamill arrived in his work's van earlier then the arranged meeting time and officers went to arrest him.

He drove off but was later arrested at his family home in Leeds.

At the time of the offending, Hamill was the subject of a sexual offences prevention order, imposed in 2015, after he was convicted of making indecent photographs of children.

Hamill, of Bantam Grove, Morley, appeared in court for the sentence on his 50th birthday via a video link from Armley jail.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and one of inciting sexual exploitation of a child.

Jeremy Hill-Baker, mitigating, told Judge Neil Clark: "It is his 50th birthday and far from the way he imagined he would spend it.

"Your Honour can see from the screen that he is very upset.

"He plainly does feel upset and remorseful.

"Not just for himself but for the impact this has had on his wife and children."

Hamill was jailed for four years and two months.

Judge Clark said: "It is an aggravating feature that you hid your online activities from the people who were supervising you at the time because you were subject to a sexual offences prevention order."