A man who flew from Ireland to London to sexually abuse a six-year-old girl has been jailed.
Adrian O’Reilly, 49, came to police attention in January 2023 when he exchanged messages with an officer posing as another online user.
The paedophile discussed his desire to arrange to meet and abuse a young girl.
The undercover officer went along with the plan and suggested meeting at Stratford.
On March 29 O'Reilly flew to London and travelled to Stratford where he was arrested by officers.
When he was arrested he was carrying Viagra and condoms.
On Thursday (March 14) O’Reilly, from Dublin, was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown to six years and nine months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to arranging/facilitating the commission of a child offence.
O’Reilly was also handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and will be subject to lifetime notification requirements.
Det Con Ed Hickford was part of the team who snared O’Reilly and said: “Our pursuit of those who engage in illegal sexual activity with children is relentless and we will use a range of tactics to identify and arrest those responsible.
“In this case, O’Reilly thought he was communicating with a person who was offering access to a young girl.
“His messages were vile and he endorsed these by getting on a plane and flying to London with the intention to carry out this abuse.
“However, he was greeted by my team who arrested him and compiled a wealth of evidence which left him with no choice but to plead guilty.”
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