A paedophile who exchanged more than 1,200 sexual messages with what he believed was a 14-year-old girl is now on the run after being jailed for six-and-a-half years in his absence - with police warning he represents a "significant risk to children". Nalika Ranasinghe, 55, first contacted the 'girl' in February 2023, unaware that the account was actually a decoy set up by an online child activist group.

Detective Sgt Mike Paget said: "Ranasinghe was extremely persistent in his pursuit of sexual gratification from this 'child', who continually tried to reject his advances. He poses a significant risk to children, which is reflected in the sentence, and we are keen to arrest him as soon as possible so he goes to prison. I would urge anyone who knows of his whereabouts to contact police straight away."

Despite the girl telling him she was just 14, Ranasinghe turned their conversation sexual, encouraging her to engage in inappropriate acts both alone and with her 12-year-old cousin.

He even planned to meet the 'child,' telling her: "I will touch you one day if you let me."

After sending over 1,200 messages, the activist group confronted Ranasinghe at his Littleport, Ely home on February 14, 2023.

They then called the police, leading to his arrest.

Ranasinghe admitted to sending the messages but claimed he believed he was speaking to an adult, not a child. He was found guilty of two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and two counts of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity.

Ranasinghe, of The Hythe, Littleport, was released on bail.

However, he failed to attend his sentencing at Cambridge Crown Court on March 20, where he was sentenced to six years and six months in prison in his absence.