A 61-YEAR-OLD man from Lower Wick, near Dursley, has today admitted trying to arrange a sex act with an underage child.
At Gloucester Crown Court, Barry Williams, of Wick House, pleaded guilty to arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence between August 12 and 27, 2016.
Judge Ian Lawrie QC agreed to grant Williams bail for the preparation of a pre-sentence report, as requested by the defence.
He observed that Williams has no previous convictions for anything similar - but he said Williams clearly has a “compulsive desire to communicate with people as shown in the indictment."
The court heard that the message in which Williams tried to arrange the sex act was one of 5,000 'chats' found on his electronic devices.
Bailing Williams, the judge said he needed to know more about him before passing sentence.
He warned "You have clearly crossed the custody threshold and at the moment custody is a distinct option."
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 The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.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 here