A man struggling with a high sex drive went online and groomed a 12-year-old girl called Sofia, a court heard.

But it transpired the child – who he sent an obscene video of himself to – was actually a police law enforcer.
Adam Gardiner admitted a course of misconduct spanning January to April 2017.

He pleaded guilty to: attempting to cause or incite a child aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity; attempting sexual communication with a child; attempting to cause a child aged under 13 to look at an image of sexual activity; making indecent images of children.

Judge Martin Picton jailed him for two-and-a-half-years at Bristol Crown Court.
He told Gardiner: “You committed some offences which are depressingly familiar to the court.

“They are serious and you demonstrated a sexual interest in children.”
Gardiner was told to register as a sex offender for life and handed a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order designed to stop him re-offending.

He was deprived of his laptop computer and two mobile phones.

Richard Posner, prosecuting, said Gardiner claimed on an online messaging service that he was “30 and living in Glastonbury”.

After chatting with a girl called Sofia, aged 12, he made sexual innuendos and suggested sexual acts, the court heard.
He went on to send her a 12-second video of himself performing a sex act, Mr Posner said.

Police found he had 219 indecent images of children on his mobile phones