A MAN who tried to “sexualise” a 12-year-old girl has been jailed - because he was actually talking to an undercover police officer.

James Duncan Wright, 35, gave a false name and claimed to be 16 in online exchanges during the first lockdown, said Philip Morley, prosecuting at York Crown Court.

The railway worker thought he was talking to a 12-year-old girl.

But the recipient of his messages was actually a police officer conducting an online sting against paedophiles using the profile of a fictitious girl.

Mr Morley said the police officer received sexual pictures and a sexual video from Wright and requests that the “underage girl” send sexual pictures of herself.

“He asked for her phone number and asked if they could meet up,” said Mr Morley.

Wright, of Chatsworth Terrace, Holgate, pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to get a child to watch sexual activity.

“As far as you were concerned you were in a genuine conversation with a 12-year-old child and you sexualised that conversation,” the Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, told Wright.

Wright was jailed for 15 months, put on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order restricting his use of the internet and access to children for five years.

Defence barrister Sean Smith said being prosecuted had had a big impact on Wright.

He had done rehabilitation work to tackle his criminal behaviour and was taking and paying for weekly professional counselling.

He had had a cancer scare that had left him on medication that meant he couldn’t work on the railways directly for safety reasons.

He was also taking medication for depression, the court heard.