Registered sex offender travelled from London to Barnsley to meet child.

Registered Sex Offender Jailed for Nine Years After Attempting to Meet Child in Barnsley

A registered sex offender travelled from London to Barnsley with the intention of sexually abusing a child he had groomed on the internet.

Hegoda Makalanda, 45, travelled from the capital to Barnsley, South Yorkshire, on October 27, 2022, where he believed he would be meeting the child. Instead, he was arrested by detectives as part of a joint operation involving South Yorkshire Police and the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit.

Makalanda had been engaging with police officers as part of a covert investigation. Appearing before Sheffield Crown Court for sentencing, he was jailed for nine years and placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely. He was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Makalanda pleaded guilty to four offences, including meeting a child following grooming, sexual communication with a child, arranging the sexual exploitation of a child, and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, at a hearing in November 2022.

The court heard he was already the subject of a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order after being convicted of making and possessing indecent images of children dating back to 2010.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Howard of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: "Makalanda was already a Registered Sex Offender and his actions in grooming and arranging to meet a child in order to carry out abuse show how much of a danger he is to children. I'm pleased that the sentence he has received reflects this. The Yorkshire and Humber ROCU will not stop in its efforts to bring the predators like him to justice."