A REGISTERED sex offender who travelled from London to Barnsley to meet a child - but instead was faced with police officers - has been jailed.
Hegoda Makalanda, 45, travelled from the capital to the town on October 27 where he believed he would be meeting a child.
But instead he was arrested by detectives as part of a joint operation involving South Yorkshire Police and the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YH ROCU).
Makalanda had been engaging with officers from the YH ROCU as part of a covert investigation.
Appearing before Sheffield Crown Court for sentencing last Friday, Makalanda, of Drapers Road, Enfield, was jailed for nine years and placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
He was also given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).
Makalanda had pleaded guilty to four offences, including meeting a child following grooming, sexual communication with a child, arranging the sexual exploitation of a child and breaching the order at a hearing in November last year.
The court heard he was already on a lifetime SHPO after being convicted of making and possessing indecent images of children dating back to 2010.
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Howard of the 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.”
