A PAEDOPHILE tried to encourage a 12 year old girl to have sex with him, just weeks after being released from prison.

Sean Stifman, 31, previously of Norwich Avenue, Southend, has been jailed for four years and must serve six years on licence.

Basildon Crown Court was told he was speaking to an undercover police officer, posing as a child.

However, he had only been released from prison three weeks before.

He had a mobile phone and was using social media, despite being ordered not to.

During the hearing at Basildon Crown Court, Stifman admitted the charge of attempting to cause a child under 15 to have sex with him.

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Prosecuting, Francesca Levett said: “He is 31 and in October 2019 he was convicted of similar sex offences and admitted seven offences and was sentenced to two years in prison and put on the sexual harm prevention order for ten years.

“He was released on October 14 and got a phone and opened up social media accounts and about three weeks after being released he committed these offences.

“It was a police officer posing as a 12-year-old girl and they began chatting via a dating application and then moved to Whatsapp.

“He was asking for intimate images of the girl and sending explicit images of himself to her.

“Stifman was arrested on November 6 and in his police interview he gave a full admissions.

“He stated his goal was to have sex with the girl and said he didn’t care he had breached the order by having a mobile phone and social media and not telling the police.”

Mitigating, Kevin Toomey told Basildon Crown Court: “There’s been a very good report from a psychiatric, psychologist and sex therapist who found he is a frustrated man who doesn’t know how to deal or cope with his sex interests towards young females.

“It talks of a lack of success with women his own age and how he finds it easier to talk to and flirt with and speak with and form some form of relationship with younger girls.

“He also talks about a lack of support during his last sentence.”

Sentencing Stifman, Judge Andrew Hurst said: “It is lucky this was not a 12-year-old girl you were speaking to. I can only imagine the trauma it would have caused.”

The judge added: “You must understand children are not objects for sex and they are not equipped to deal with the adult sexual world.”