Serial child sex offender.

A serial child sex offender from Derby has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for contacting an 11-year-old girl and sending her a vile image of himself.

Mark Rayworth, 55, formerly of Mickleover, contacted the girl as she was getting ready for school on November 25, 2022, and sent her a sexual photograph of himself via Snapchat.

Later that day, Rayworth sent another sexual image to the victim's adult sister, who had been made aware of the incident and pretended to be a 13-year-old girl. The sister contacted a group of paedophile hunters, who confronted Rayworth at his home in Brailsford.

Rayworth denied any wrongdoing and took the case to trial, forcing the 11-year-old girl to testify in court. He was found guilty of causing or inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, attempting to cause or incite a girl to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Judge William Harbage KC, who sentenced Rayworth, said: "These are serious offences and you will receive serious punishment. She was 11 and she is autistic both of those make her vulnerable. Your pre-sentence report indicates you are still in denial about this and maintain your innocence. There is still no expression of remorse."

Rayworth has a history of sexual offences. In 2012, he was convicted of sexually grooming a 15-year-old girl. In 2014, he was convicted of breaching a sexual offences protection order by contacting a girl under 16.

In addition to the prison sentence, Rayworth was handed a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and placed on the sex offender register for life.

PC Sam Bailey of Derbyshire police's protecting children online team said: "I would like to thank the girl for her courage in making a trusted adult aware of messages which were making her feel uncomfortable and were not right, and for her courage and families support during our investigation and the court case. I welcome the sentence Rayworth is now facing. He was totally responsible for his inappropriate behaviour against children. I hope this shows that we always take reports seriously and will investigate to ensure people are brought to justice and face the consequences their actions."