A PROLIFIC paedophile has been jailed after being caught out by a vigilante group posing as a 13-year-old girl.

Victor James Balfour, of Derby Street in Weymouth, went to Weymouth railway station to meet ‘Summer’ on November 10, 2018, but was instead confronted by a group of paedophile hunters.

It came after Balfour, 65, spent a month communicating online with whom he believed to be the young girl – despite already being subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for similar offences.

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The order prohibited Balfour from using the internet or social media, but he breached this to access a chat room in which he sent explicit messages to the girl – who was, in fact, a decoy. He then arranged to meet her.

Balfour appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court via video link from prison in Exeter on Friday.

Rob Welling, prosecuting, said Balfour was ‘persistent’ with his graphic messages to ‘Summer’ and believed it was her he was going to meet at the station. It was, in fact, a group of vigilantes, who were not confrontational but asked him to reflect on his behaviour.

Tim Shorter, defending, said Balfour was ‘clearly a man with a number of problems.’ He said Balfour was becoming increasingly isolated and lonely he when breached the order to access the internet.

“He’s adamant, under no circumstances, would he have engaged in the actions he was talking about,” said Mr Shorter. “It was a matter of fantasy. He knows he should not have been doing it.”

The judge, Recorder Michael Vere-Hodge, said Balfour was ‘persistent’, ‘manipulative’ and had an ‘entrenched sexual interest’ in young girls.

He said Balfour knew he was prohibited from accessing the internet, yet still went to libraries to do so. This, he said, was ‘predatory’ behaviour and demonstrated an ‘entrenched interest in sexual activity with children.’

Recorder Vere-Hodge said he did not believe Balfour went to Weymouth station as a matter of fantasy but was expecting to meet a young girl.

Balfour was made subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order in 2015 after he was found to have indecent images of children on his phone.

He breached the order in April 2018 and was given a four-month custodial sentence suspended for 18 months.

Recorder Vere-Hodge said Balfour has ‘systematically ignored and lied’ about the order and sentenced him to 32 months in prison for attempting to meet an underage girl and four months for breaching his suspended sentence.

He was also given 12 months for breaching the SHPO and 12 months for communicating with the girl online, both to run concurrently.

He was jailed for a total of 36 months.