Pervert caught by paedophile hunters escapes prison sentence

A pervert who believed he was grooming a 12 year old girl for sex has avoided a prison sentence after he was caught by paedophile hunters
Nigel Phillip Simms, 47 of Bootle appeared at Liverpool Crown Court where he admitted four counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child
The court was told that Simms had contacted four online accounts of girls he believed were under 16. Simms sent a string of vile messages to each of the girls and arranged a meet with one who he thought was 13 years old.
When Simms arrived at the meeting place, he was greeted by online child protection team ‘Predator Closure North West’ who questioned him over his internet activity.
The team went on to tell Simms, that the child was infact an adult and that police had been called.
Police arrested Simms, and after analysing his internet equipment, they discovered that he had been talking sexually to four decoy accounts in total, with the youngest one being just 12.
The judge sentenced Simms to 20 months which was suspended for two years
A sexual harm prevention order for 10 years was put in place and he was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work
He must attend a sex offenders treatment programme and a programme of rehabilitation for 30 days, and is not allowed any unsupervised contact or communication with any child aged under 16