'I HOPE I DIE BEFORE THIS is OUT'
Pensioner Ivor Gifford, 92, is Britain’s oldest paedophile to be caught by The Hunted One vigilantes in online sting
A PERVERT aged 92 told cops: "I hope I die before this is out" after he became Britain's oldest paedophile to be caught in a vigilante sting.
RAF veteran Ivor Gifford had tried to meet an 11-year-old girl for sex after grooming her in internet chatrooms and telling her to "wear something sexy".
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In fact he was talking to members of vigilante group The Hunted One after they set up fake social media profiles to snare sex fiends.
Video footage shows the moment they confronted the predator as he arrived in a taxi at Llanhilleth Railway Station near Abertillery, South Wales.
He admits he was there to pick up a girl aged just 11, saying he thought she wanted to meet him out of "curiosity".
One of the vigilantes can be heard in the footage telling Gifford: "You're 81 years older than this child.
"We catch a load of guys - you're the oldest, it's unbelievable. When we found out your age we were shocked."
The video clip was shown at Newport Crown Court as a jury heard how Gifford groomed the fictional child over several weeks and sent explicit photos of himself.
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Prosecutor Owen Williams said: "He was persistent in his attempts. In over 100 pages of messages, you will see that the vast majority refer to a sexual act.
"Mr Gifford graphically describes sexual acts. He sent images of himself naked."
The court heard how The Hunted One members Daniel Cook and Andy Bradstock "set up in 2015 with the aim of raising awareness of online grooming, exposing those who engage in such behaviour, and reporting them to the police".
Mr Williams said: "They placed profiles of children on various chat websites. Though a photograph and a name is given, the child does not exist. These are fake profiles."
"They do not instigate conversations of a sexual nature but wait for the contactor to do that.
"He (Gifford) then went a stage further, having groomed online he made arrangements to meet her."
The pensioner gave the child directions on how to get from Cardiff to Abertillery via a bus and a train, the court heard.
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Gifford, of Abertillery, denied two charges of attempting to incite a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.
The former RAF man began to use the internet two years ago to find a housekeeper after his wife died aged 68 in 2014.
He said he was "lonely" and learned to use the chat sites to meet people to talk to, and believed the girls were older.
But a jury rejected that and found him guilty. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on June 2.
After the case, Det Supt Leanne Brustad of Gwent Police warned about the dangers of vigilantism despite the amateur group's role in catching the paedo.
She said: "Revealing the identity of suspected paedophiles gives the suspect the opportunity to destroy evidence before the police can investigate them.
"It also leads to people who have been identified going missing or raising concerns for their safety.
"This can divert significant resources into protecting suspects, which would be better invested in investigating and, where there is evidence, prosecuting them."
The NSPCC said: "Although the children Gifford was arranging to meet were not real, the danger he poses to young children is.
"He set out to groom girls with the intention of sexually abusing them. This kind of predatory behaviour can ruin childhoods with the devastating effects lasting into adulthood.
"We believe that identifying offenders and investigating crimes like these is best left to the police.
"When members of the public take the law into their own hands it can run the risk of driving offenders underground, jeopardise ongoing and complex police work or result in innocent people being harassed – all of which may put more children at risk of harm."
The Hunted One's website boasts they have snared more than 40 paedophiles so far.
One perv caught in a sting blamed his seven-year-old son for sick messages he sent to a schoolgirl before going to meet her for sex.
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