Overview

• David Mitchell, 57, was sentenced at Preston Crown Court on June 20 after a jury found him guilty of inciting a girl under 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity and arranging her exploitation
• He believed he was speaking to someone who shared his sexual interest in children but was actually communicating with a South West Regional Organised Crime Unit officer
• Mitchell openly stated a preference for victims as young as eight and provided explicit instructions for what he wanted to witness online
• Officers from both South West and North West Regional Organised Crime Units arrested him at his Leyland home on February 17, and he was remanded in custody the next day
• He received an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for life