A Suffolk paedophile who fantasised about watching a child undress has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Edward Lucas was arrested after he had an online conversation with someone posing as the parent of a ten-year-old girl, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

In chat room conversations with the fictional parent, Lucas said he might be willing to travel to London to meet the adult and child,

He also requested that the child shouldn’t be wearing underwear and that she might expose herself to him, said Peter Clark, prosecuting.

Lucas, 44, of Aureole Walk, Newmarket, admitted two offences of attempting to arrange the commission of a child sex offence.

He was given a 15-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and a 50-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for ten years and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for the same period.

Sentencing him, Recorder Jeremy Benson said: “You had a chat on the internet with someone you believed to be the parent of a ten-year-old girl.”

He said that during the chat Lucas said he wanted to meet in order for the girl to engage in sexual activity.

Mr Clark said police received information in April last year that Lucas had been in contact on social media with an adult posing as the parent of a ten-year-old girl.

In the chat, Lucas said he wanted to meet the adult and child and watch the child undress and touch herself.

Lucas told police that he had been an idiot and hadn’t intended to actually meet the child.

Bruce Clark, for Lucas, said his client didn’t have any previous convictions and had the court case hanging over him for 18 months.

He said Lucas had admitted the offences to police officers and had pleaded guilty at an early stage of the proceedings.

He said Lucas had no intention of meeting up with the person he had been communicating with.

“It was a fantasy he was carrying out over the internet. He would never have gone through with it,” said Mr Clark.

“He doesn’t take that last final step of making an arrangement,” he added.

He said Lucas wasn’t entrenched in this sort of behaviour and wasn’t a danger to the public.

He had also been assessed by the probation service as being at a low risk of reoffending.