A pervert who sent graphic sexual images to a child he thought was just 14 has been jailed.

Canterbury sex offender Nigel Stewart, 55, was tracked down after trying to coerce his victim into performing sex acts.

Stewart, of Gordon Road, targeted his would-be victim over several weeks starting on September 13, 2022.

During this time, he was made aware of the fact that she was just 14-years-old on numerous occasions.

Unbeknownst to him, he was in fact interacting with a ficticious profile.

An investigation by Kent Police’s paedophile online investigation team secured evidence demonstrating he had intentionally sent indecent messages to an underage girl.

On October 18 of the same year, officers carried out a search at his home address. He was arrested and a mobile phone was seized from the scene.

Following a lengthy and complex investigation, Stewart was charged and appeared before Canterbury Crown Court on August 8, 2023, where he pleaded guilty to attempting sexual communication with a child and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was sentenced to two years and 11 months’ imprisonment at the same court on Tuesday, October 10.

He is also subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the next 10 years.

Det insp Robert Grieve said: ”Stewart aggressively pursued what he thought was a 14-year-old girl, bombarding them with indecent messages.

“Had Stewart successfully made contact with a real child, his actions would have had a long-lasting emotional and psychological impact on them.

“Custodial sentences like this are necessary to prevent people like him from potentially inflicting serious harm on children.”