A MAN FROM Dublin has been jailed for close to seven years after he flew to London in an attempt to meet and sexually abuse a six-year-old girl.

Adrian O’Reilly, 49, travelled to London on the pretence of meeting the child and was arrested by Metropolitan police officers at the rendezvous point in Stratford.

Met Police Detective Constable Ed Hickford was part of the team who snared O’Reilly.

Hickford said that the Met’s pursuit of those who engage in illegal sexual activity with children is “relentless” and explained that the force will “use a range of tactics to identify and arrest those responsible”.

“In this case, O’Reilly thought he was communicating with a person who was offering access to a young girl when in fact he was communicating with a police officer,” said Hickford.

“His messages were vile and he endorsed these by getting on a plane and flying to London with the intention to carry out this abuse.

“However, he was greeted by my team who arrested him and compiled a wealth of evidence which left him with no choice but to plead guilty.”

The Met Police said O’Reilly first came to police attention in January 2023 when he exchanged messages with an officer posing as another user.

In these messages, he discussed his desire to arrange to meet and abuse a young girl.

On 29 March 2023, O’Reilly flew to London and then travelled to Stratford where he believed he would meet his contact and then travel on to meet the child.

When he was arrested, officers found him in possession of items including Viagra and condoms.

O’Reilly was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown to six years and nine months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to arranging/facilitating the commission of a child offence.

O’Reilly was also handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and will be subject to lifetime notification requirements.