A 60-year-old man carried a BB gun and handcuffs with him when he went to meet who he thought was a 14-year-old schoolgirl – but insisted to cops he “only wanted a cuddle”. 

The disgusting pervert told her their relationship was a secret, called himself her “daddy”, and said he wanted to take a bath with her and wash her, Teesside Crown Court heard. 

He tried to argue that he carried the gun due to a vermin problem in his home, while the handcuffs were in case “there was trouble when he was out”.

Groenewood, of Portman Street in central Middlesbrough, had no idea that the person he was talking to – who was called “Scarlett” on the website, was actually a decoy, set up by a pedophile-hunting group. 

He was then intercepted by police when he went to meet her at Middlesbrough train station, on January 13, 2022.

During police questioning, when he was asked if he was sexually attracted to children, Groenewood replied: “A little bit.”

The court also heard he had messaged the same online vigilante group in another conversation, in which he thought he was talking to “Holly”, whose age on her profile was 13.

He suggested they have sex, and asked the supposed 13-year-old what “they were going to do together under the covers”.

Groenewood pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting sexual communication with a child and to attempting to meet a child following grooming. 

He has been jailed for 30 months, made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years, and must comply with sex offender police notifications for the same period of time.

Defending, lawyer Nikki Horton said she had concerns about how much Groenewood could understand. 

She said: “He possibly has a learning disability. He also sent photos of his bedding with stuffed toys on top of it; and of jigsaws that he’s done. There’s a certain naivety and childlike behaviour, perhaps he hasn’t got the adult intelligence that others have.”

But Recorder Thomas Moran said that a report on Groenewood found the fact that he took a BB gun and handcuffs with him “extremely concerning.”

He added: “You’re socially isolated and you said you were looking for a friend. You said you were only looking for a cuddle.

“I reject that. You were interested in sexual activity. I am in no doubt that you intended to abduct the girl – that’s the only sensible explanation as to why you had handcuffs with you at the time. However, this was an attempt to meet – there was no real victim.”

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