A PREDATORY paedophile was caught by a police sting when officer posed as a teenage girl.
Martin Stuart was offering money for sexual acts to what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl called Nicola.
But the 44-year-old was actually chatting to a female officer of Lancaster Constabulary on MSN messenger.
Gloucester Crown Court heard Stuart, of Drakestone Cottages, Stinchcombe, was jailed for six months in 2003 for possession of indecent images and was on the Sex Offenders' Register.
He was arrested again in May last year after being caught out by the police sting. Prosecutor Julian Kesner said: "The communication very quickly became of a sexual nature and within a couple of hours he was suggesting to have sexual intercourse in exchange for money."
A search of his computer found six indecent images of children, 11 movies depicting extreme pornography, one still image of extreme pornography and 27 images of children.
The court heard Stuart had also been jailed for two years in Wakefield in 1993 for kidnapping and threatening to kill an adult prostitute and possession of an imitation weapon.
Defending, Dermot Clarke said Stuart had mental health issues, was sectioned last year and attempted suicide last month.
He said: "After the offences in 2003 he was able to control himself so did not commit those offences again. He engaged in a solid relationship and was in control of his urges."
Judge William Hart jailed Stuart for 15 months and disqualified him from working with children. He will be put on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years.
He pleaded guilty to attempting to cause a girl to engage in sexual activity, six counts of possessing indecent images depicting children and extreme pornography and one charge of making indecent images of children.
Judge Hart told Stuart: "You have an unhealthy and predatory interest in young girls.
"You appear to be motivated to change, but whether that can ever be successful I don't know."
