A paedophile vigilante group posed as a teenage girl on the internet and trapped a sex offender who had only been out of prison a month.

Leeds Crown Court heard David Allen Gordon had received an extended jail sentence for previous sexual offences.

He was released from that on July 24 this year and a Sexual Offences Prevention Order remained in force restricting his contact with girls under 16.

Within weeks he was chatting to a teenager online unaware that behind the 15-year-old’s fake profile on the social media site was the organisation Parents Against Paedophiles.

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Alisha Kaye, prosecuting, said they arranged for the girl “Jodie Shaw” to give a mobile phone number to Gordon to allow one-to-one contact having told him she was 15.

In spite of knowing her alleged age he continued to text her and even told her he had been in prison for sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl and had conditions imposed on him.

Asked if he was allowed to talk to her he replied: “No not really” but said he would anyway. He told her he would like to see her in school uniform.

He also asked what she was doing and when she said she was going to take a shower he offered to wash her back. He told her if police followed him he “would be back to the nick.”

Leeds Combined Courts, Crown Court
Leeds Combined Courts, Crown Court

The parents group contacted the police and Gordon was arrested on August 27. He claimed he had known the messages were not from a teenager and was trying to “catch her out.”

Mr Anastasis Tassou, representing Gordon, said: “There was a marked absence of any degree of deception in this case – he gave his own name, true age and even disclosed he had been in prison.”

He said it was possible Gordon might have more work done with him in the community to prevent such actions in the future and suggested sentence be deferred to see his compliance.

Judge Simon Phillips QC rejected that suggestion and said the probation service had identified a clear pattern of sexual offending against pre-pubescent females. Work could be done with him in custody.

Gordon, 48 of Albion Street, Dewsbury admitted attempting to breach his Sexual Offences Prevention Order and was jailed for 18 months.