A PAEDOPHILE from Purley sent sexual messages to girls aged 13 and 14 in which he taught them how to have sex and told them he wanted to get them pregnant.

David Nix, of Wintringham Way, Purley, was sentenced to more than two years in jail after paedophile hunters exposed him in 2019.

The 41-year-old spoke to six ‘decoy’ social media accounts set up as 13 and 14-year-old girls between June and August of that year.

READ MORE: Woman died after bathroom drug overdose

Reading Crown Court heard how Nix knew he was talking to underage girls from the start of his grooming as they told him their ages.

Large parts of these conversations -- which Nix initiated -- were of a sexual nature and involved the Purley man telling the girls he wanted to meet up with them for sex at a hotel, asking to be boyfriend and girlfriend, and telling them they looked “sexy.”

Reading Chronicle:

He told them he would get them pregnant when they were 16 and that it was okay to have a relationship with an older man, prosecutor Chetna Patel said.

To each ‘child’ he spoke to, he asked them to keep their conversations between them private and not to tell their parents.

Nix even gave some of the girls his address, asking them to send him birthday cards.

READ MORE: Man who assaulted police officers among latest residents in the dock

The court heard how Nix sent a sexually explicit picture to one girl and asked for sexually explicit pictures back.

Paedophile hunters contacted police about Nix’s communications and officers attended his address in August 2019.

He confirmed to police that he had been talking to the underage girls and confirmed he sent sexually explicit images to one of them.

In a police interview, he said he was aware that what he was doing was “wrong” and asked officers not to treat him like he was “stupid”, adding that he wasn’t going to “deny it”.

Nix said his actions were a “joke” and told officers he had learning disabilities.

Reading Chronicle:

Later, at another police interview, officers said he became “visibly upset” at being told the girls he was speaking to were not real.

Prosecuting, Ms Patel said: “The defendant displayed persistent grooming behaviour.”

READ MORE: The faces of six Berkshire men all women should avoid

He was confronted by paedophile hunters ‘Predator Awareness’ in March 2020, who livestreamed their meeting with the Purley man.

Defending, Sarah McIntyre said Nix was “remorseful” and that he had taken steps to reduce his social media use.

She added that his learning difficulties brought “significant challenges to his life.”

But Judge Sarah Campbell said this “did not explain why he chose to see out children rather than adult company.

Sentencing, she said: “You were not lured into our offending. You were the one to contact the various girls involved.

Reading Chronicle:

“The conversations followed a pattern [of a sexual nature].

READ MORE: Why are Thames Valley Police leaving the town centre and when will they move?

“There were elements of manipulation in your behaviour and grooming.

“You are a high risk to children.”

Nix was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail for six counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, of which he will serve half before being eligible for release.

The 41-year-old appeared at Reading Crown Court on Friday, June 11.

We've set up a new Facebook group where you can find all the most interesting court and crime stories from around Berkshire.

Click the link above to join.