A PREDATORY paedophile who posed as a 14-year-old boy to sexually groom a 12-year-old girl over the internet has been jailed for four years.

Andrew Gibbs got the child to carry out sex acts on herself while he was in contact with her over an internet chatroom.

And the 43-year-old pervert, who had ‘eye-wateringly obscene’ conversations with the child, also arranged to meet her so he could have sex with her in his car.

But he was found out when a friend of the youngster told the girl’s mother what had been going on and the police were called in.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court how Gibbs first contacted the girl through a chat site in late 2008.

He said Gibbs, who called himself Joe Bloggs, initially claimed to be a 14-year-old boy while the girl said at first she was the same age.

However, while she went on to tell the truth about her age he later claimed to be 32 years old, when in fact he was a decade older.

Mr Meeke said: “She, in common with so many children these days, is on the internet at all hours of the day and night. In particular on various chatrooms.

“Her mother became aware, first through friends, that her daughter was making inappropriate contact on the internet.”

When her machine was examined by the police they found a log of the conversations which was riddled with sexual talk.

Mr Meeke added: “There are eye-wateringly obscene communications between the two of them.

“It is fair to say sadly that some of the child’s responses are equally as obscene as the defendant’s, though where she got that knowledge from one can only imagine.”

He said on a number of occasions the girl had been encouraged to perform sex acts on herself and he had sent her an indecent picture of himself.

Gibbs had also sent her directions for them to meet on three occasions so they could have sex, but he said they had never actually seen each other.

Gibbs, of Deacon Street, pleaded guilty to three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to witness sexual activity and sexual grooming.

Mike Pulsford, defending, said: “It really beggars belief as to how he had descended into quite such a pattern of degrading behaviour as he did.

“My client does accept that what he did from the outset was absolutely appalling.”

He said his client had suffered the bereavement of a close male friend and the break down of a relationship shortly before the offending.

Although he had engineered the meetings, he said his client was the one who had not gone through with it, making excuses for his failing to turn up.

Jailing him, Judge Douglas Field said “During the months of October and November 2008 you made contact over the internet with this young girl of 12.

“I accept that this girl was giving you encouragement in these appalling messages that you were sending each other: deeply obscene.

“But you were then about 41 and she was only 12, and the court takes this extremely seriously. In my judgement you are a predatory paedophile.

“You were grooming this girl in the hope that you could perform sexual acts on her for your own sexual gratification.”

Judge Field also banned Gibbs from working with children, imposed a sexual offences prevention order restricting his liberty and told him to register as a sex offender for life.