Court Man who groomed what he thought was a girl, 14, for sex is jailed

A MARRIED man groomed what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl he'd met online then booked a hotel room for them and stocked it with alco-pops, condoms, lubricant, sex toys, and a copy of the Karma Sutra sex book, a court has heard.

- Jason EVANS

Rodolfa Galvao from Yate has been jailed for 14 months

Rodolfa Galvao from Yate was arrested after turning up to meet the child at a 10-pin bowling alley only to be confronted by members of a paedophile hunter group.

Sending the 49-year-old defendant down, a judge at Swansea Crown Court said there was “only one reason” why the defendant had booked the room and equipped it with the items he had, and he said he had no doubt Galvao had intended to engage in sexual activity with someone he believed to be a girl.

The judge noted the defendant had expressed no real remorse only “self pity” Helen Randall, prosecuting, told the court that the online contact began when Galvao sent a message to a Facebook profile which appeared to be that of a 14-year-old girl.

She said the profile was actually a decoy being operated by a volunteer from the group Dank Dragon. The decoy made it clear she was aged 14 but the defendant continued the conversation.

The court heard Galvao and the decoy exchanged phone numbers and then began chatting on Whats-App, and that during the conversation the decoy talked about school and babysitting.