A MIDDLE-aged man was trapped trying to lure an underage girl into communicating with him in a sexual way.
Andrew Mark Brunton, 51, of Stoke St Gregory, admitted the offence when he appeared at Taunton Magistrates' Courts yesterday (Wednesday).
He was given a community order and ordered to carry out 40 hours unpaid work in the community.
The court heard that Brunton "intentionally attempted to communicate with 'Jenni', a person under 16 who you did not reasonably believe to be 16 or over".
The contact was "sexual and intended to encourage her ('Jenni') to make a communication that was sexual", while the purpose of the communication was for Brunton's "sexual gratification".
Brunton admitted breaching the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 between April 22 last year and July 11 last year.
He was ordered to pay an £85 victim surchrge and £85 costs.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article