Paedophile jailed for messaging decoy 13-year-olds

A convicted paedophile who was caught messaging what he thought was two 13-year-old girls has been jailed for two years and 10 months.

Philip Woods, 55, was actually speaking to two decoy accounts run by the same online paedophile hunter, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Woods was using a phone he had not registered with police which put him in breach of a sexual harm prevention order made in 2019 when he was convicted of making indecent images of children.

He admitted breaching the order and attempting to engage a child a in sexual communications.

Woods messaged what he thought was a 13-year-old girl via Chat Avenue on 7 October, telling her he wanted to be her boyfriend and sending her a link which he claimed showed video of an "older man making love to a 13-year-old", prosecutor Reece Williams said.

The following day he messaged another account of what he thought was a 13-year-old girl and again turned the exchange sexual.

Both accounts were run by the same online safety group who reported him to police, the court heard.

Judge Bennett said despite previously being caught, it was clear Woods' "sexual interest in children continued" and he posed a "very high risk".

Woods, of Helmsley Road in Durham, was also made subject to another sexual harm prevention order to limit his access to internet-enabled devices indefinitely.

He must sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.

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