Dark Justice catch North East pervert as he tries to meet girl, 14

David Hutchinson turned up to meet 14-year-old "Amy", with whom he thought he had been chatting online, only to be confronted by the justice group instead.

Hutchinson, 47, of no fixed address, admitted attempting to meet a child after sexual grooming - but there was suggestion from his legal team he may have been the victim of entrapment by the group.

At Newcastle Crown Court Judge Edward Bindloss rejected the entrapment claim outright.

The judge said: "There is no criticism of Dark Justice or the method they have used nor of the language that Amy exhibited during the exchanged between them.

"I consider Dark Justice to have done nothing wrong here."

Anne Richardson, prosecuting, told the court that "this was not an entrapment-type case", and added that Hutchinson had asked the girl, who told him she was a virgin, about the underwear she was wearing and sent her a picture of his exposed penis.

The 47-year-old was then confronted when he turned up to the meeting at Times Square, in Newcastle, on May 25 last year.

Miss Richardson said: "He was expecting to meet Amy, in fact a member of Dark Justice was there and he had alerted the police, who arrived and arrested the defendant."

During police interview Hutchinson admitted he "intended to have sex, had she arrived".

Hutchinson was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months with programme requirements.

The court heard that the man has learning difficulties, and that many of his messages were "fuelled by alcohol".

Hutchinson, who has no previous convictions, was described as a "sad and lonely" character who has been rejected by members of his family because of his behaviour.

The 47-year-old is the fifteenth person to be convicted through the online activities of Dark Justice, due to appear on ITV's the Kyle Files tomorrow.

The investigative programme features the group in an edition about internet dangers.

On his website, Jeremy Kyle said: "I found the Dark Justice guys fascinating. People will say about undercover paedophile finders that they are not helping the police, they they are vigilantes and I probably had the mindset like that going into the programme.

"These are two guys from Newcastle who do an awful lot of work, give their dossiers to the police and then go and sting them and record it, and they've achieved some convictions in the couple of years they've been doing it.

"As a parent, some will disagree with me and think they are vigilantes, but I think they're absolutely stunningly brilliant."