Newport Crown Court (Image: PA Images / Alamy)
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A 73-year-old man has been sentenced at Newport Crown Court after he was snared by an online paedophile hunting group posing as a teenage girl.
The sting
Robin Vecchi, of Scott Close, St Athan, was caught out by a decoy operated by the group Dank Dragon. Believing he was communicating with an underage girl, the pensioner attempted to get her to perform a sexual act on herself, the court heard.
Guilty pleas
Vecchi admitted three charges – attempting to cause or incite a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to watch or look at an image of sexual activity, and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
Sentence
Judge David Wynn Morgan imposed a 12-month community order with a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement. Vecchi was also made subject to an electronically monitored curfew between 10pm and 7am for a period of six months.
He must register as a sex offender for 10 years and was made subject to a five-year sexual harm prevention order. A £114 surcharge was also ordered.
