A Bognor man has gone to prison for attempting to meet what he thought were two young girls, for sex after grooming them online.
Martin Garrigan, 32, of Barton Road, Bognor, was given a four year sentence having previously pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with children, when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court on 30 June.
He will also be a registered sex offender for life, and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to last indefnitely, severely restricting his access to children and to digital communications devices.
Garrigan had been arrested by Sussex Police officers in September 2020 in Hotham Park, near his home. He had been waiting to meet what he thought were two teenage girls, but in fact there were no such girls and he had been talking online to adults posing as the children.
Detective Constable Jordan Holmes of Sussex Police said:”Garrigan was blatantly seeking to meet young girls for sex and may well have persisted in this and other ways but fortunately we received information from members of the public and his activities were rapidly ended.”
