A TEENAGER has appeared in court charged with attempting to meet a 12-year-old girl.

Adam Mariwani was arrested at Colchester Town train station on Sunday morning after he was confronted by vigilante group Team Impact which aims to track down paedophiles.

The 18-year-old was charged on Monday and appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

During the short hearing he had proceedings translated to him through an interpretor.

READ MORE: Teen confronted by paedophile hunters 

Magistrates declined jurisdiction of the case, saying it was too serious for their powers and decided it had to be dealt with at a crown court.

Opening the case, Philip Pearson, prosecuting, said Mariwani had sent numerous messages - some of which were sexually charged - and explicit pictures to a girl who repeatedly said she was 12-yearsold.

He said: “This case relates to Mr Mariwani contacting a 12-year-old girl using a dating app called Meet For You.

“Eventually through the conversation he gave her his mobile phone number.

“In some of the messages he made a number of suggestions to her which were sexual in nature including asking: ‘Will you stay with me forever or just one night?’ “She repeated through the conversation she was 12 and some of the methods of communication were not available to her because her mother would not allow it.

“He continued to message her and sent her numerous images including www.gazette-news.co.uk Wednesday March 14, 2018 Gazette 9 photographs of a sexual nature.

“Through the conversation, an arrangement was made to meet on March 11.

“When he arrived at the station, the girl was not there but a vigilante group.

“When police arrived he said to them he had done nothing wrong, and told them: ‘I have only texted, not had sex.’”

The court heard his mobile phone has since been seized and searched.

Magistrates also heard he also had the girl’s number saved in his phone under the nickname ‘Flower’.

Mariwani told the court he did not know where he lived but had previously told police he was based at Egglestone Terrace, Stockton-on-Tees, in Cleveland.

He was not asked to enter a plea but his solicitor indicated he accepted he had spoken to the girl, but denied sending any sexual messages.

He was denied bail and will next appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on April 10 for a plea hearing.

As he left the courtroom, Iranian national Mariwani said the claims were a “fabrication”