34-year-old Guy Brigdale, sent the messages in January when he tried to arrange a meeting with the girl at Llanelli’s Parc Trostre for oral sex.
The ‘girl’ was in fact a decoy from a paedophile hunters group, and when Grigdale failed to show up at the meeting place, they tracked him down near to the River Loughor.
In an attempt to escape the group, Brigdale swam across the river, but was later arrested after being found hiding in a ditch.
Swansea Crown Court heard that Brigdale had 13 previous convictions for 20 offences, including being jailed for three years and put on the sex-offenders register for life in 2017 after contacting a young girl on Facebook and trying to get her to send him sexually explicit photographs.
Brigdale pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause/incite a girl aged 13-15 to engage in sexual activity, attempting to cause a child aged 13-15 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity, attempting to meet a child under the age of 16 following grooming and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Judge Catherine Richards said Brigdale was a dangerous offender who posed a significant risk of committing further offences. For the combined offences, Brigdale has been handed an extended 12-year sentence. He will remain on the sex-offenders register for life.
Detective Sergeant Samuel Stanway from South Wales Police said: “The messages sent by Guy Brigdale, to an individual he believed was a child, were abhorrent.
“There is no place for anyone who willingly engages in sexual communication with a child in our society. It is very fortunate that this wasn’t a real child involved in the conversation, as they could have been posed a great danger by someone like Guy Brigdale.
“The right place for him is prison, as is highlighted by this lengthy sentence.”
