A TEENAGER arrested after allegedly arranging to meet a 12-year-old girl is set to appear in court this morning.
The 18-year-old was arrested at Colchester Town train station on Sunday morning after being confronted by a paedophile hunting group.
Team Impact is vigilante group which aims to lure paedophiles using social media.
On Sunday morning they tracked down a man who is said to have sent an intimate image to the girl via a text message and had arranged to meet her at Colchester Town Station.
READ MORE: Teen confronted by paedophile hunters appears in court
The group filmed the moment they confronted the man and posted it on a linked Facebook account.
In the video, a member of the group is heard asking the man: “Who are you here to meet?”.
He then claims not to understand.
The woman repeats: “You are here to meet a child, you have been talking to an underage girl online, haven’t you?”
Another member of the group then shows a photo of the girl to the man.
A member of the group then adds: “She is a child, she is 12 years old.
“In this country it is illegal for you to talk to anyone under 16.
“What you have done in England is wrong, she is a baby.”
He tells the group he has been in the UK for three months.
As the 30-minute video progresses, the man begins to get agitated after the group tell him the police have been called.
He then says: “It was just a text, I knew she was 12 but it was just a text.”
He then punches a brick wall and is moved to a nearby bench.
While speaking to police on the phone, a woman from the group outlines the alleged offences.
She is heard saying: “He sent her a picture and asked her to kiss him.
“He sent her numerous indecent images and arranged to meet her at the station.”
An Essex Police spokesman said: “An 18-year-old man from Stockton-on-Tees has been arrested on suspicion of meeting a child following sexual grooming in Colchester.
“He was arrested in St Botolph’s Circus at 10.10am on Sunday, March 11.”
- Adam Mariwani, 18, of Stockton-on-Tees, has been charged with being an adult and attempting to meet a girl under 16 years of age following grooming.
He is due to appear in Colchester Magistrates’ Court today.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article