A man will appear before a circuit judge next month accused of having an imitation pistol intending to engage in sexual activity with a 12-year-old ‘girl’.

Jonathan Chapman, 24, is accused by prosecutors to have had the 6mm Airsoft pistol in Oxford on September 4 last year with intent to commit an indictable offence.

He has also been charged with attempted sexual communication with a ‘child’ between late August and early September last year, attempting to arrange the commission of a child sexual offence, attempting to meet a girl under-16 after grooming and attempting to cause a child under 13 to look at an image of a person engaging in sexual activity.

The charges were too serious for pleas to be taken at the magistrates’ court. And on Tuesday, the justices bailed Chapman, of Sandford Lane, Kennington, to attend Oxford Crown Court on September 1.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

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