A CWMBRAN man who arranged to meet what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl after he groomed her online has been jailed.

Carl O’Hehir was arrested after a member of the public set up an account on dating website Plenty of Fish to catch people who make contact with children over the internet for grooming.

The 27-year-old contacted the fake profile, which had been set up under the fictitious name of Chloe May, a 19-year-old.

Prosecuting, Tony Trigg said that, soon into their conversation, Chloe told him she was 14.

“After she told him she was 14, he had no reservations in continuing the conversation,” said Mr Trigg. “On March 25, Carl asked whether she had any other means of communication and then they started to talk over WhatsApp.

“He asked her ‘what are you looking for? Xx’ and she said ‘I do not really know, I am new to all this’. She also said to him she was young and a virgin.

“He said ‘I am at an age I would like to settle down’.”

They arranged to meet up in Cwmbran after O’Hehir sent her two pictures of him so she knew what he looked like, the court heard.

He continued: “When she asked what they would do in the house, he said ‘it is totally up to you, babes, I would never force you to do anything - if it happens, it happens’.

“He told her that, if they slept in the same bed, he’d like to have cwtch.”

The court also heard that, after she told him he didn’t want to get pregnant, he replied “I have condoms, if you wanted to use one”.

Mr Trigg said that, on Saturday, April 1, at 4.15pm, O’Hehir, of Greenfield Close, Pontnewydd, drove to Cwmbran train station.

He added: “He was shocked as he was confronted about his intentions to meet a child.

“The conversation was broadcasted live on Facebook and police were contacted.”

Defending, Ben Waters said O’Hehir, a father of three, has no previous sexual offending convictions.

“He is apologetic and ashamed of his behaviour,” he said. “This situation has caused misery to his parents, who have been very supportive.”

He described O’Hehir as a man with a “troubled” upbringing who has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

“He is a socially inept and isolated young man who lives his life behind a computer screen,” he said.

O’Hehir pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following grooming and driving whilst disqualified at Newport Crown Court yesterday [Tue].

Sentencing him, Judge Mr Recorder Greg Bull QC said the courts are determined to protect children from sexual predators.

The judge said: “This was serious offending, you thought you were going to meet a 14-year-old and you wanted to engage in penetrative sex with her.

“An aggravating factor is that you drove your car shortly after being disqualified. You were happy to drive to meet this girl.”

O’Hehir was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment for attempting to meet a child following grooming and to two months for driving whilst disqualified.

The judge ordered for the two sentences to run consecutively, meaning O’Hehir was sentenced to a total of 22 months.

The judge also put in place a sexual harm prevention order for five years and he ordered for O’Hehir to be in the sexual offenders register for ten years.