A DISABLED man was caught in a police online paedophile sting after he was lured in by the officer’s user name referencing pop group Little Mix.

Thomas Farrar believed he had contacted a 12-year-old girl called Jessica Roberts and made sexual comments to her during their online chats.

Farrar, 62, told the ‘youngster’ that he would like to see her dressed in “a micro-mini” skirt and that he liked “small boob tubes”.

The former chef, from Dunbar, also asked ‘Jessica’ about her sexual experience before asking if her “breasts are getting big yet”.

But the account that Farrar had contacted turned out to be operated by undercover police officers who had set up the fake persona with the user name ‘JessLilMix’ in a bid to entice predators to contact them.

Last Thursday, Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told that police that set up the Skype account claiming to belong to a 12-year-old girl called Jessica Roberts last year; she was said to have lived in England.

Prosecutor Lorna Ferrier said: “Her persona was that she lived in York and she used the online Lycos chat with the user name JessLilMix.

“Communications were instigated by the accused and he said he was 62, was a retired chef and that he was married.”

After a couple of days of “unremarkable” chats between the pair, Farrar then “escalated” the conversation by asking the girl “what she would wear if they met up”.

Disabled Farrar, who appeared from custody and had to be helped into the dock by security officers, then said he would like to see the youngster in a mini skirt and short crop top.

Ms Ferrier added: “He asked her ‘What is the most you have done?’ and ‘Are your breasts getting big?”

Farrar went on to make comments about the girl’s nipples and a couple of days later he subsequently blocked the account belonging to ‘Jessica’.

Defence solicitor Paul Haran said that his client had been in custody since his arrest in November and that he had recently been hospitalised after being attacked by a fellow prisoner.

Mr Haran said that Farrar was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, where he received stitches to a wound, and, following the attack, Farrar now suffered from “cloudy” vision.

The lawyer added that Farrar “appreciates the court will undoubtedly consider the imposition of a custodial sentence”.

Sheriff Norman McFadyen placed Farrar on the sex offenders’ register for a term still to be decided and deferred sentence to March for the preparation of reports. He was remanded in custody meantime.

Farrar, who has recently been living in Dalkeith, admitted intentionally sending messages of a sexual nature to an undercover police officer via social media and attempting to communicate indecently with a child between September 17 and 21 last year.