Paedophile groomed a 12-year-old girl online.

A police team dedicated to protecting children has helped put a paedophile behind bars after he groomed a 12-year-old girl online.

Stewart Barnett, 42, posed as a 19-year-old and sent messages to the child on various social media platforms and through text messaging.

He was sentenced to six years and six months in prison following an investigation by Gloucestershire Constabulary's Child Sexual Exploitation Team.

Barnett had been messaging the victim for several months last year and asked her to engage in sexual acts. He also demanded she record these acts and send them to him, and he sent the child images and videos of himself engaging in sexual activity.

Police were alerted, and Barnett, now 43 and from Longlevens, Gloucester, was arrested and charged.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity (penetration) and one count of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity (no penetration).

At a hearing on May 25, Barnett also admitted to creating indecent images of the child, including 20 images and four videos in category A, 28 images and 29 videos in category B, and 190 images and 9 videos in category C.

He was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court on June 26.

In addition to his prison sentence, Barnett was given a 10-year restraining order, a 15-year sexual harm prevention order, and was placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

Investigating officer TDC Caroline George said: "Barnett preyed upon this child and sent her vile messages, which included trying to make her feel guilty when she didn't want to send him certain videos. He displayed clear grooming behaviour by telling the victim that he loved her and wanted to meet her, while knowing he was speaking to, and exploiting, a child. I'd like to commend the girl's courage for speaking about what was happening and working with us throughout the investigation."

Detective Inspector Simon Goodenough added: "We have a dedicated team which investigates these type of abhorrent offences and we'll do everything we can in order to prosecute those who cause harm to children. The victim in this case has been extremely brave for speaking about Barnett's horrid actions and I would too like to thank her and her family for working with us."

Following the hearing, the victim's mother said: "We feel relieved that justice has been served and that now we hope we can rebuild our lives moving forward. We would like to extend our grateful thanks for the amazing support we received from TDC Caroline George throughout every stage of this investigation. We would also like to thank our child exploitation social worker and Gloucestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre for their hard work and the support which they have given our daughter."