A Warrington paedophile who used online conversations to arrange the rape of young children has been jailed after police uncovered his messages on a seized phone.

Michael Cartledge, 41, sought opportunities to abuse children aged between three and 14. Liverpool Crown Court heard that he discussed planned attacks and arranged dates for them to happen.

His offending continued until the day before his arrest. He stopped only when police took his phone away.

Cartledge admitted seven counts of arranging the commission of a child sex offence, including child rape. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and one count of making indecent images of children by downloading them.

The court heard that he sent sexual messages over WhatsApp to someone he believed was a five-year-old girl.

Police discovered the offences after arresting Cartledge on April 25 the previous year in an unrelated investigation. No charges resulted from that investigation, but examination of his Samsung Galaxy exposed his attempts to arrange child sexual abuse.

He was arrested again on June 27 and answered “no comment” during questioning.

The court also heard that the people behind the online conversations may have been trying to extort money from him, and that the children discussed may not have been real. Cartledge nevertheless admitted offences involving his attempts to arrange their abuse.

He already had a conviction from February 2024 for keeping a child from a responsible person, for which he received a fine.

His defence pointed to his early guilty pleas, difficult background and difficulties with his thinking, arguing that rehabilitation could be possible with support in prison.

But the prosecution highlighted a stark fact: Cartledge had not chosen to stop. Police intervention brought his offending to an end.