Online groomer caught by a paedophile hunter who was posing as a 13-year-old girl.

An online groomer has been jailed after being tricked by a paedophile hunter who was posing as a 13-year-old girl.

Gary Lewis, 48, was depressed and lonely when he contacted a woman on an adult dating site, unaware it was a fake profile set up as a trap. The decoy then revealed she was actually 13, but Lewis continued the conversation.

He broke off the sex chats for a while but resumed them on his birthday just before Christmas last year, feeling anxious, depressed, and isolated after receiving no seasonal greetings.

Lewis went on to suggest the decoy, using the false identity of a girl named Charlotte, perform a sex act on herself. This led to him being confronted in the street by a group of paedophile hunters, who spent 40 minutes humiliating him while livestreaming the footage to their supporters.

His ordeal only ended when the police arrived.

Lewis, from Camborne, denied attempting to incite a child to sexual activity and attempted sexual communications with a child but was found guilty by a jury at Truro Crown Court last month.

He was jailed for three years by Judge Simon Carr at Exeter Crown Court and ordered to sign on the sex offenders register for life. He was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, allowing police to monitor his online activity after his release.

The judge said, "At the time, you were living on your own and I accept you have mental health issues and a diagnosis of an unstable personality disorder, significant depression and a history of self-harm. That is the background but it is no excuse for what you did."

"A significant feature of this case is that the initial contact was through a site which requires users to be adults. You accept that many users use fake biogs and it is difficult to tell which is real. You moved the chat to WhatsApp at which point the illusion was gone and although it was an older person masquerading as a child, they made it clear repeatedly that you were communicating with a 13-year-old girl."

"The jury concluded that you could not reasonably have believed they were over 16. You continued over many weeks with numerous communications. I have no doubt you believed she was 13. You are 48 and a man of impeccable character."

The prosecution stated Lewis had sent messages over a considerable period leading up to one in which he invited the decoy Charlotte to touch herself sexually.

Lewis claimed at his trial that he knew he was talking to an adult decoy and went along with the chats in a game of cat and mouse.

The defense argued Lewis was suffering from serious mental health issues at the time and resumed the chats because he was lonely and isolated when he received no birthday or Christmas messages.

They also stated he had to undergo a grueling experience at the hands of the paedophile hunting group when they confronted him and effectively detained him, and his ordeal only ended when the police arrived.