A SIX-MONTH jail sentence has been imposed on a paedophile predator from Crewe who callously befriended a single mum to get close to her seven-year-old daughter.
Convicted child molester Francis James Clark, 48, of West Street, met the girl's mother in Whitchurch through a lonely hearts column.
Fortunately, to the relief of the girl's mother, the pervert's plan failed and the youngster was not molested in any way.
Paedophile Clark had been placed on the sex offenders' register for life in 1997 for a string of indecent assaults on a four-year-old girl.
Under the terms of the Sex Offenders Act, he was banned from mixing with young girls. On Friday, he admitted failing to comply with the Act by not telling police of a change of address.
Prosecutor Janet Pitt-Lewis told the court Clark started staying over at the Whitchurch house and acted as a child-minder.
In December, an officer visited Clark's Crewe home and noticed a teddy bear in his flat and calendar on the wall with 'I love you' written on it.
Clark told the officer that his girlfriend had a son - but that was a lie.
Clark's solicitor Paul Beardwell told Shrews-bury Crown Court that his client's life has been impossible since the 1997 conviction.
'His life has had a disaster imposed on it by his own behaviour,' said Mr Beardwell.
Judge Paul Glenn told Clark: 'You deliberately gained access to a young child by deceit. You were seeking out your target and continue to present a risk of offending towards children.'
