Maidstone Paedophile Jason Martin journeyed 300 miles to engage in sexual activity with an 11-year-old girl, after believing he had consented to compensate her mother £100. The 55-year-old believed he was conversing with a mother online who had listed her daughter for sale and questioned about the price.
The profile was established by an undercover police officer. Upon arriving in Newcastle via train from Maidstone, Jason Martin was approached by the police and attempted to assert that he was in the North East to visit Barnard Castle in County Durham.
Nevertheless, Jason Martin had an image of the ‘youth’ as his phone’s home screen. He has been incarcerated for over eight years.
Newcastle Crown Court heard it an undercover police officer set up a profile on a chat site using the name “Dau for sale” in July this year, which prosecutors say was short for “daughter for sale”. Jason Martin made contact and said “Yes please, how old?”.
He was told the child was 11 and that she was tall for her age and blonde. Jason Martin asked for a price and expressed a willingness to travel to to Newcastle.
The conversation moved to WhatsApp and continued for four weeks. Nick Lane, prosecuting, said: “A price of £100 was agreed by the defendant for full sex.
“It was agreed he would book a hotel in central Newcastle. The officer sent a number of pictures of the child with her face blanked out. The defendant expressed some concern it was a set up.”
Jason Martin was not perturbed however and there was a discussion about the mother of the child watching him having sex with her. He was sent more pictures and the arrangement was changed for the mother to book the hotel for the meeting, which was planned for August 14 this year.
Jason Martin travelled to Newcastle on that day and was intercepted by plain clothes police officers at the railway station’s ticket barriers. He said “S*** how did you know what I looked like”.
Police seized Jason Martin’s phone and the home screen picture was one of the pictures of the child which he had been sent by the undercover officer. He tried claiming he didn’t believe the arrangement was real and said he travelled to Newcastle to visit Barnard Castle.
Jason Martin, of Lower Road, Maidstone, pleaded guilty to arranging or facilitating a child sex offence. He was jailed for seven years and ten months and must also sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.
Paul Rooney, defending, said: “He is a married man with an adult child. He has been employed throughout his adult life and has contributed to society . He has fallen into serious error.
“He is genuinely remorseful and disgusted at his behaviour.”
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