Windsor man sentenced after paedophile sting operation

Abderraouf Qutteineh, 74, was caught by paedophile hunter group Shadow Hunters UK

A grandfather caught in a paedophile sting operation has been sentenced.

Abderraouf Qutteineh, 74, of The Drive in Windsor, Berkshire, sent sexual videos of himself to someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl.

He arranged to meet 'Chloe' at Windsor and Eton Riverside station for sex at a hotel, but instead was confronted by self-styled paedophile hunters.

At Reading Crown Court, Qutteineh was handed a 21-month sentence, suspended for two years.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and one count of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.

The court heard how Qutteineh met 'Chloe' on a chat site for adults, but that she said from the outset she was 14 years old.

'False account'

Prosecutor Michael Roques said they exchanged more than 4,000 messages in two weeks, during which the married pensioner sent sexual videos and stills of himself, and had arranged to have sex with her on 19 December.

'Chloe' turned out to be an adult member of Shadow Hunters UK, and he was confronted and filmed live on Facebook by the group.

Defending, Edward Butler said Qutteineh was not a "predator seeking children" but had logged on to an online platform for adults and "the opportunity presented itself".

Passing sentence, Judge Ian Grainger said mitigating factors included Qutteineh's age and previous "impeccable" character, as well as the fact that the 14-year-old girl never existed so "no child was harmed".

He added: "The way the offence was discovered does not detract from the criminality involved, but I accept that if a false account had not existed, the offence would not have happened."

Qutteineh has been put on the sex offenders register and will undergo a sex offenders treatment programme.