Farnsfield pervert confronted twice by same paedophile hunters who set up decoys he tried to groom
A Farnsfield pervert was confronted twice by the same group of paedophile hunters who set up the 14-year-old decoys he tried to groom, a court has heard.
Police found indecent images of children as young as eight on Andrew Mayfield's mobile phone after he called them to complain about being blackmailed on September 16 last year.
Gregor Purcell, prosecuting, said Mayfield was on bail for that offence, and prohibited from unsupervised contact with anyone under 18, when he began chatting with what he thought was a 14-year-old child, on October 10.
Describing himself as “a big cuddly teddy bear” Mayfield, 50, gave the “boy” directions to his home, explicitly told him how he would perform a sexual act with him, and promised to buy him a gold chain after six months of chatting with him.
The vigilante group live streamed the moment they confronted him on November 5, and Mayfield was arrested again.
Nottingham Crown Court heard how he contacted a second 14-year-old decoy on October 22, and continued engaging in “sexually motivated conversations” until November 21 when the same group confronted him for the second time.
The 27 indecent images found on his phone depicted children aged between eight and 16, with four in category A, three in category B, and 20 in category C.
Mayfield has two previous convictions for 16 offences, including possession of indecent images of children from January 2009, said Mr Purcell.
Mark Knowles, mitigating, said the case was “less serious” because it involved decoys, and there were relatively few images.
He said Mayfield, who has lived alone since his mother’s death in 2021, deserved credit for his guilty plea.
He has mental health issues and rarely leaves his council home which has been adapted for his disabilities.
He has been in custody since last November and could lose the address if he serves too much longer in prison, he said.
“He is somewhat lonely and sought solace in the internet,” added Mr Knowles.
Mayfield, of Alexander Road, Farnsfield, admitted two counts of attempted sexual communication with a child and three counts of making indecent images of children, at previous hearings.
On Wednesday, Judge Julie Warburton handed him a 20-month sentence, and ordered him to sign the sex offenders register for ten years. A ten-year sexual harm prevention order was also made.