Child groomer who travelled from London to Barnsley jailed after police sting

A registered sex offender has been jailed after he travelled 170 miles to abuse a child he had groomed online.

Hegoda Makalanda, 45, of Drapers Road in Enfield travelled from London to Barnsley on 27 October last year, where he thought he would be meeting the child.

Instead, he was arrested by police who had been posing as a child as part of a covert investigation.

Makalanda pleaded guilty to meeting a child following grooming, sexual communication with a child, arranging the sexual exploitation of a child, and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

He was jailed for nine years at Sheffield Crown Court and placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

The court heard he was already on a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order after being convicted of making and possessing indecent images of children dating back to 2010.

Speaking after the sentencing, Det Ch Insp Andrew Howard, from the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YH ROCU), said: “Makalanda was already a registered sex offender and his actions in grooming and arranging to meet a child in order to carry out abuse show how much of a danger he is to children.

“I’m pleased that the sentence he has received reflects this. The Yorkshire and Humber ROCU will not stop in its efforts to bring the predators like him to justice.”

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