A 70-YEAR-OLD pensioner who offered to take the virginity of a schoolgirl aged just 12 was being set up by the police in an undercover sting.

Convicted Newport paedophile Basoodeo Sujeeun was lured into trap after he believed he was talking to Ella from Grays in Essex.

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During his lurid conversations with the ‘girl’, he told her he would take the train to London Paddington to meet and then have sex with her.

Andrew Davies, prosecuting told Cardiff Crown Court: “The defendant said to ‘Ella’, ‘I know you want it badly. Naughty girl.’”

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He added: “There was some grooming in this case.”

Sujeeun, who has now turned 71, of George Street, Newport, pleaded guilty to attempting sexual communication with a child.

He also admitted to attempting to incite a girl under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The offences were committed last September.

Mr Davies said the defendant was handed a suspended prison sentence in 2011 after being convicted of a child sex offence.

Rupert Taylor, representing Sujeeun, said his client had already served the equivalent of an 18-month jail sentence after being remanded in custody in November.

He told the court the defendant was originally from Mauritius and had worked all his life since entering the UK when he was 19.

Mr Taylor said Sujeeun was suffering from prostate cancer and had endured a personal tragedy when his daughter had died at the age of three.

Judge Niclas Parry told the defendant he had a “distorted interest in young females”.

He added: “You spoke to her about taking her virginity.

“The level of your denial is a cause of concern.”

Judge Parry said he had tried to blame solicitors, barristers and even a probation officer before adding how the defendant was assessed as “posing a high risk of harm to children”.

Sujeeun was jailed for two years, suspended for two years.

He was ordered to complete 35 sessions of a sex offender programme and a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

The defendant must register as a sex offender for the next 10 years and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order until 2031.