Northamptonshire paedophile who tried to meet 11-year-old girl jailed for a year

A 60-year-old man who tried to meet who he thought was an 11-year-old girl for sex has been jailed for a year.

Anthony Lockhart, previously of Daventry, was in online contact with a woman in September 2021 who he believed to be the mother of an 11-year-old girl.

The conversation went on for a period of weeks with Lockhart also talking to the daughter and arranging to meet them both for the purposes of sexually abusing the girl, Northamptonshire Police said.

The mother and daughter were undercover police officers and when Lockhart arrived to the location agreed in Daventry, he was arrested.

In interview, Lockhart claimed to have just gone along with the conversation so he could gather evidence and later report it to police, however when officers searched his home, numerous sex toys were found that were consistent with intentions to abuse a child.

Lockhart was charged with arranging/facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and possession of extreme pornography. He pleaded guilty to these offences in January this year.

Detective Sergeant Helena Congreve, said: “Although the mother and daughter in this case were not real people, this case has exposed Anthony Lockhart for the dangerous predator he is.

“I am really pleased we were able to bring him to justice before he harmed a real child and I hope this case demonstrates our proactivity.”

Lockhart was sentenced on Friday (February 10) at Northampton Crown Court to one year in prison.