A man who believed he was grooming a child online has avoided prison
Roy Brian Hickman of Birmingham appeared at Birmingham Crown Court where he admitted:

Attempting to incite a girl to engage in sexual activity.
Attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

The court heard that Hickman contacted two online profiles, he believed belonged to two girls aged 13 and 14.
After sending a string of sexually explicit messages to the girls, Hickman arranged a meet in the hope of having sexual intercourse with the young girl he had been chatting to.
However, to his shock, instead of a schoolgirl waiting for him at the location of the meet, online child protection team ‘Keeping Kids Safe’ were there to greet him.
The team explained that they were a paedophile hunting team team and that both girls were actually adults pretending to be children
The judge handed Hickman 20 months imprisonment but suspended it for two years.
He was told he must take part in a sexual offenders treatment programme, and was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years
April 2018
Cleared of rape of seven year old child
Roy Hickman has been found not guilty of two charges of sexual assault of a child under 13, raping a child and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
The defendant has previously admitted two other charges of a sexual nature.
The judge has adjourned sentence for reports to be prepared.
She said there was still a factual issue that had to be decided including whether Hickman tried to meet the victim.