A COVENTRY man has been jailed after arranging to meet someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl in Bedworth after grooming her online.
Warwickshire Police found evidence that Edward Foster, 77, had been talking online to two girls he believed to be under the age of 16 -unaware they were decoys.
He urged the girls not to tell anyone and to delete their messages .
He also asked one of them to send indecent images of herself.
In August 2022, Foster arranged to meet one of the girls at Bedworth Railway Station.
Police were alerted to the plan and he was arrested at the scene.
Appearing at Warwick Crown Court on Monday, Foster, of Holbrook Lane, Coventry was jailed for three years and one month.
He previously pleaded guilty to one count of meeting a girl under the age of 16 following grooming.
He also pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to engage in sexual conversation with a child.
Foster was convicted of two offences in the West Midlands.
These convictions were for meeting a girl under the age of 16 following grooming and attempting to engage in sexual conversation with a child.
Det Cons Sam Hughes from Warwickshire Police CID said: “Foster is quite clearly a dangerous man who groomed what he believed to be young girls online before arranging to meet one of them in Bedworth.
“This kind of case should serve as a wake-up call for parents. There are people like Foster out there who will look to use social media to groom children for their own sexual gratification.
“It is important you know what your children are doing online and talk to them about the potential dangers.”
