A BURY man prepared what he believed to be a vulnerable 14-year-old girl to visit him from Scotland – only to discover that he had been stabbed by vigilantes.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard David Barnes speak with what he believed to be Mollie Miller about Twoo’s motion.
After reaching out to her earlier this year, he switched the conversation to Whatsapp, the court was told.
The court heard that the woman made it clear that she was 14 and still in school.
Barnes asked if she had a boyfriend and when she said no he asked why not.
Prosecutor Mark Kellet said: “It became known that her mother was an alcoholic, the defendant asked who was looking after her.
“Mollie replied that her father had died. The profile created was vulnerable. ”
Mr Kellet said during the conversation that Barnes had expressed a desire to kiss her all over and asked personal questions. Then he asked her to visit him in Bury.
‘Mollie’ asked what she would say to her mother and Barnes said, “When she’s drunk, she can’t say you’re gone.”
Barnes said they could start 16 more sexual activities, he added.
Finally the girl said she would meet him in Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester.
Barnes had been there on a date in June only to find he had been stabbed by vigilantes, the court was told.
The person he spoke to was a woman from the Earth Angels group.
The 59-year-old was arrested and made a full confession.
He appeared to have been convicted in court for attempting to meet a girl under the age of 14 after grooming and having sex with a child.
Barnes of Glenboro Avenue in Bury represented himself when he said he did not have the resources to hire a defense attorney.
Judge John Edwards asked him if he wanted to say something.
He said, “I’m sorry, it has never happened before, I can’t tell why I did it.”
The judge said he would take this and his guilty admission into account.
Judge Edwards said, “As for you, you wanted to indulge yourself with a real person and travel from Ayrshire.
“She presented herself to you as vulnerable and you were ready to take advantage of this situation.
“I treat you as if this were a deviation, but I fear this was a very serious one.”
He put Barnes in prison for 16 months and put him on the sex offender registry for 10 years.