Paedophile tried to arrange raping baby and girls

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A man who described himself as a "paedo" was caught by undercover police officers online while trying arrange the rape of two girls and a baby, a court has heard.

James Madgin, 41, believed he was speaking to a 12-year-old girl, a teacher grooming a pupil and a mother abusing her children, but all three were decoy profiles, Teesside Crown Court heard.

He said he mainly preferred children aged zero to five but would be "flexible" and go up to nine years old, the court heard.

Madgin, who had been previously been jailed for child sex offences, admitted six counts, including attempting to arrange the commission of the rape of children.

He will be sentenced on 11 August.

Madgin, from Sherburn Village near Durham, made contact with what he thought was a 12-year-old girl called Poppy on Chatwee in November 2025, with the conversation quickly turning sexual, prosecutor Mairi Clancy said.

He told her he was a "paedo" and it was "against the law" for him to speak to her, yet he persisted with sending graphic messages to her, the court heard.

Madgin also used Chatwee to meet a man called Chris, another police decoy, who said he was a teacher from Liverpool who was grooming a 12-year-old girl, the court heard.

When asked if Madgin had actually been able to abuse any children in person, he replied "sadly" not as there had been "no opportunity", the court heard.

Madgin enthusiastically supported "Chris's" idea to "share" the 12-year-old girl, with Madgin suggesting they book a holiday home and saying it was a "shame" she did not have a sister he could also abuse, Clancy said.

The third decoy profile to ensnare Madgin was that of a woman called Kelly who claimed she had a seven-year-old daughter, who she had been abusing since infancy, and a 12-month-old baby, the court heard.

The pair had an "extremely graphic conversation" about raping the baby, the court heard.

Madgin also requested the seven-year-old girl be dressed in her school uniform when they met and asked Kelly what level of sexual abuse the child could "tolerate", Clancy said.

He also told Kelly he had known he was a paedophile since the age of 13 but had "fought the feelings for 25 years" before coming to "accept what I am".

On the back of the conversations, police raided Madgin's home on 23 February 2026 and seized two laptops and a phone, on which they discovered hundreds of indecent images of children, the court heard.

His collection, which he had amassed over a five-year period, included pictures and videos of very young children being abused, the court heard.

In 2009 Madgin was jailed for eight months for 19 offences including making and distributing indecent images of children and causing a child to engage in sexual activity, the court heard.

In mitigation, Charles Creasey said Madgin, a married man in full-time employment, "fully accepts having a deviant sexual interest in children".

Judge Andrew Hatton said he needed to give the matter further consideration before deciding on a sentence.

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