A Basildon man has been jailed after he was caught trying to arrange to rape children.

Stuart Ross, 50, of Orlando Drive, first spoke to a woman called Louise on social media on 15 November 2020.

Ross quickly turned the conversation to describing the sexual acts and abuse he wanted to act out on Louise and her two young daughters, aged four years old and four months old, and how soon he would be able to visit them.

Over the course of 11 days he exchanged dozens of messages with Louise and had phone calls confirming times and dates he would travel to her address in Yorkshire.

The two daughters were not real, and 'Louise' was an undercover police officer based in the Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Crime Unit.

Its Police Online Investigation Team (POLIT) and colleagues are specialists in tackling online child sex offences and POLIT officersarrested Ross, taking him into custody and seizing his electronics.

Searches for travel times between his and the officer's address, as well as dozens of searches for abusive material, were found on the devices.

He was charged with attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence, and publishing an obscene article.

While he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge, after appearing at Basildon Crown Court for a three-day trial a jury found Ross guilty of attempting to arrange a child sex offence as well. He was remanded in custody and today (Thursday 13 August) was sentenced to nine years in prison, with a further two years on an extended licence, at the same court. He must serve two-thirds of his custodial sentence in prison.

He was also given a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order which tightly controls what access he can have to internet-connected electronic devices, and will remain on the sex offenders' register for life.

POLIT Detective Constable Sally Keddy, the investigating officer in the case, said: "In interview he tried to claim his messages were just a fantasy. At court he pleaded not guilty. In reality, Ross is a sexual predator.

"He is a danger to children and now he is spending time in prison for his offences, children are safer.

"It is right that he now serves a long sentence for his abhorrent offending.

"We are fully committed to ensuring those who pose a threat to vulnerable children are brought to justice, working closely with our colleagues nationwide as we did with the Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Crime Unit in this case.

"We work across borders to stop these crimes and protect our communities. Those committing these offences should expect to be brought to justice."

In the past 12 months POLIT safeguarded 229 children and carried out 152 warrants, resulting in 141 arrests. Their work involves confronting difficult and often distressing material.

These results are made possible with close work with teams across the force who manage sexual offenders, investigate child abuse, and most importantly safeguard victims of these crimes no matter when they report the exploitation they experienced.

These efforts have positioned Essex Police as a national leader in tackling online child abuse, strengthened further through international partnerships and advanced investigative techniques.

POLIT Detective Inspector Emma Portfleet added: "Our team is dedicated to tackling offenders like Ross, keeping them away from the children they seek to abuse and those that would enable them.

"I'm proud to play a part in keeping children in Essex and online safe from the insidious and vile behaviour of those like him."