Southampton paedophile jailed after vigilante sting

A man who was caught in a sting by a paedophile hunter has been jailed for child sex offences.

Robert Babey, 68, was arrested in July following a vigilante operation which was filmed by BBC Inside Out South.

He admitted attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and multiple breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Sentencing him to seven years in prison, Judge Gary Burrell QC said he had been "publically humiliated".

Southampton Crown Court heard Babey was found in possession of sex toys when he arrived to meet who he thought was a 14-year-old boy but was in fact paedophile hunter Stephen Dure who had posed as a boy online while communicating with the former businessman.

Stephen Dure, known as Stevie Trap, has seen his evidence used in three court cases this year

The encounter was filmed as part of a BBC Inside Out South documentary about Southampton-based Mr Dure's activities.

In the programme the National Police Chiefs' Council criticised vigilante activity for potentially compromising police operations.

In sentencing, Judge Burrell QC said that Babey, of Grantham Road, Eastleigh, was "at high risk of serious harm to children".

"You may well have been publically humiliated. You deserve to be. It was an appalling thing to do," he added.

Babey was sentenced to seven years in prison

Babey had first been convicted in 1990 for indecent assault.

He was sentenced to seven years in prison, of which he was ordered to serve two-thirds before being released on licence. He was also handed a new Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life.