A MAN from Bradford is beginning a four-year jail sentence after attempting to persuade who he thought was a 12-year-old girl to meet him in a hotel “to give away her virginity”.

David Holt, 44, of Kenton Way, did not realise that he was messaging a decoy.

Jailing Holt at Bradford Crown Court, Mr Recorder Anthony Hawks said: “You plainly have a perversion that needs to be looked at in the long term.”

Prosecutor Nicola Hoskins told the court that West Yorkshire Police was made aware of Holt via colleagues at West Midlands Police, who said he had been having online sexual conversations with a decoy who he thought was a 12-year-old girl.

The conversations began on March 2 this year via social media with Holt using the name DJ Dave.

Miss Hoskins said the decoy revealed her age “very early on” in the conversation with Holt but that he attempted sexual communication “from the outset” as he sought to groom her.

He asked her what she was wearing, described how he wanted to touch her, asked for pictures of her, and called her “baby”.

The conversation then moved on to whether she would like to meet him at a shopping centre, and whether they could stay in a hotel together if they did meet.

Miss Hoskins said: “Meeting up continued to be a theme in their conversations and staying in a hotel room in a bed together.

“He asked her if she would ‘pretend to be my daughter when we go underwear shopping’.

“He went on to encourage [the decoy] to go to the bathroom and take pictures, and asked if she was ready to give away her virginity.”

Holt sent the girl a picture of his penis as well as an image of adults taking part in a sexual act.

Shortly afterwards the police were contacted. Holt was arrested at home where he was found to have “a sophisticated set-up” involving numerous servers and IT devices, which took experienced officers some time to dismantle.

When interviewed Holt responded with “no comment” to all questions put to him.

He subsequently pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual communication with a child.

Mitigating, Amanda Pearce said Holt’s grooming and attempts at communication were with a decoy.

She said: “Fortunately there was no child. He never actually met up with her or made any attempts. This is not a case where somebody has been confronted getting off a train by a group of people.

“This is someone who has voluntarily stopped the actions before anything has actually come to any fruition.”

The court heard character references had been provided in support of him and he was said to be of previous good character.

Jailing Holt for a total of four years, Recorder Hawks imposed an unlimited Sexual Harm Prevention Order and said he must sign the sex offender’s register for the rest of his life.

He said he must serve two-thirds of his sentence before being released on licence.

He said: “Ultimately you declined to meet this girl.

“I hope that during the time you are in custody you will receive some input into tackling what is plainly a serious issue in your life.

“If you ever do anything like this again you are bound in my judgment to be deemed a dangerous offender and are likely to receive an extended period of imprisonment.”

He ordered the forfeiture and destruction of Holt’s electronic devices.