Borough paedophile snared in honey trap

A pervert who thought  he was sexually grooming a young girl until discovering it was a police officer will learn his  fate later this month.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Jan 2019, 13:31 BST
Updated 11th Jan 2019, 14:34 BST
Wigan Magistrates' CourtWigan Magistrates' Court
Wigan Magistrates' Court

Wigan magistrates heard that officers caught Michael Walsh in a sting by getting him to send sexual messages to a fake social media account believing a 13-year-old schoolgirl was on the other end.

The hearing was told he sent pornographic images and video of himself performing a lewd act to the account in October last year, despite police making it clear about the young age of the supposed recipient.

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The messages were exchanged through the Kik messaging app, a free service which allows people to directly message each other.

The 28-year-old from Tyldesley stated in a message that the girl should not show anyone the chat history, before continuing in his pursuit by sending numerous messages to the account asking for naked pictures, to which police replied stating that it wasn’t possible because “they were in

school”.

Walsh, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, as well as inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity.

He was released on conditional bail with an order not to contact anyone under the age of 18 years old.

He is due to appear for sentencing at Bolton Crown Court on Wednesday, January 30.