British pedophile Paul Charles Wilkins, 70, of Littleport, Cambridgeshire, flew to California in January 2016. He was caught in an undercover sting faced several charges, however, under a plea agreement pledged guilty to taking pornographic images in the country. He was also ordered to pay a $25,000 fine.

Paul Charles Wilkins holds dual UK and US citizenship, was jailed 56 months in UK for possessing indecent images of children, in 2011. US officials said that he was on probation when he left UK on January 31 last year. He was travelling to California to engage in illicit sexual conduct with two boys aged 10 and 12.

Paul Charles Wilkins had set up an online site that would enable him to arrange meeting young boys. And made a journey to the US after a man apparently offered him sex with his two sons. His original plan had failed, instead he fell for a sting operation set up by undercover agents. They contacted him via an online group he administered and used by pedophiles.

He paid one of the undercover agents $250 for sex with a nine-year-old Mexican boy in Palm Spring. But the boy did not exist and Wilkins was arrested after handing over his payment for the boy. He initially denied four charges of travelling with the intent to transport child pornography, possession of child pornography, attempted sex trafficking of children and intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

According to the BBC, in September he plead guilty to the later charges under a plea agreement with the US Attorney's Office. United States Attorney Eileen M Decker, said that the defendant persistently engaged in the sexual exploitation of children. Today's sentence ensures that children will be protected from his abhorrent conduct for many years. According to the International Business Times, the top five countries with the highest rates of child sexual abuse are South Africa, India, Zimbabwe, United Kingdom and United States.