Two determined parents have gone to extreme lengths to catch a predator who menaced their daughter online and was grooming the 11-year-old for off-line sex.
Posing as their child on Facebook, the British couple lured pedophile Thomas Gibbs out of the Internet's shadows and into a trap, London's Daily Mail reported.
The 52-year-old pervert has just started a 16-month jail term, thanks to their efforts.
Prosecutors say the parents discovered the pedophile hunting their kid when they looked over her shoulder as she played on the laptop.
A series of inappropriate messages from Gibbs peppered her Facebook page -- including Gibbs telling the girl he wanted to kiss her and writing, "I really like you" and "I want to meet you," the newspaper reported.
The family immediately sprang into action, the Daily Mail reported, first contacting police, and then continuing to engage the sex monster in dialogue -- under the ruse that he was chatting with their child.
When Gibbs suggested the little girl meet him, the family hid at the rendezvous spot and sized him up.
The parents then scheduled a second meeting, to which he agreed.
This time, the girl's family brought the cops.
Gibbs' lawyer, Mark Dixon, maintained the messages never mentioned sex, the Daily Mail reported.
He did, however, reportedly acknowledge the pain the pervert sowed.
"It has caused the family hell and he [Gibbs] accepts responsibility and guilt for that," Dixon said.
"We knew once we'd got involved she was 100% safe, and she's a very bright girl but you obviously think about all the others that could have been targeted," the girl's mother said. "It does make me more wary of Facebook, and parents should be aware of what their children are doing on the internet."
Cops were quick to thank the parents for their willingness to stare down evil and snare Gibbs in their trap.
"I would like to pay tribute to the family, who have prevented any further offenses being committed, as well as the young girl who was brave enough to tell her parents," a detective, Jon Capps, said, according to the Daily Mail.
After finishing his jail sentence, Gibbs will have to register for a sex offender for at least five years.
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