A PAEDOPHILE caught sending sexualised messages to children has been locked up.

Reice John Wills came to the attention of police due to suspicious interaction with children.

When officers seized his phone, they found numerous sexualised conversations with children believed to be younger than 13-years-old.

Appearing at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday, the 27-year-old of Shearer Road, Fratton, was sentenced for attempting to cause or incite a child under 13 years to engage in sexual activity, which he pleaded guilty to.

He was jailed for two years and three months. Wills will also be on the Sex Offenders’ Register and subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years.

Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Heather Hudson said: “Protecting children from exploitation is one of the most important missions we, the police, have.

“This is an example of effective proactive policing and I would like to thank all those involved in this case, whose hard work has resulted in a potentially dangerous offender being brought to justice.

“I also hope this sentence will alert others to the dangers of the digital world and also encourage any victim of child sexual abuse to come forward and speak to us, no matter when it happened.

“We take allegations of this nature extremely seriously and work hard to bring offenders to justice.

“Victims can talk in confidence to experienced investigators, and we can also help them get access to a range of other support services.

“If anyone has been a victim of child sexual abuse, I would urge you to report it to your local police force by calling 101.”

An NSPCC spokesperson added: “Wills’ predatory behaviour clearly poses a serious threat to the safety of young people and children. We hope that his victims will receive the support they need to recover from this experience.

“Cases such as this show why it’s so important that the Government’s upcoming Online Safety Bill ensures regulation is robust enough to detect and prevent the sexual abuse of children, with the power to impose legal sanctions on tech firm directors whose companies fail to meet their duty of care. The NSPCC will continue to push for this.”