Married man admits he is a 'paedo' who prefers children aged zero to five

Married man admits he is a 'paedo' who prefers children aged zero to five James Madgin, a married man, said he was 13 when he realised he was a paedophile and had 'fought the feelings for 25 years' A man who self-described as a "paedo" said he preferred children aged zero to five but was "flexible" and could go up to nine. James Madgin was caught after he engaged with who he thought were a girl aged 12, a teacher grooming a pupil and a mum abusing her children on a live chat app. All those accounts were actually run by undercover police officers, who caught the 41-year-old trying to arrange the abuse of three children. In November 2025, Madgin made contact with a supposed 12-year-old girl called Poppy. The Chatwee conversation quickly turned sexual, Teesside Crown Court heard. Prosecutor Mairi Clancy explained Madgin confessed to the girl that he was a "paedo", adding that it was "against the law" to speak to her. Still, he continued to send her graphic messages, the BBC reports. The accused, from Sherburn Village near Durham, used the same app to speak to a man called Chris, who he thought was a Liverpool teacher. "Chris", who was a police decoy, told Madgin he was grooming a 12-year-old girl and asked him if he had been able to abuse any children in person. The 41-year-old replied "sadly" not as he had had "no opportunity" to do so. Madgin welcomed the decoy's idea to "share" the 12-year-old girl and suggested they book a holiday home. He also said it was a "shame" she didn't have a sister he could also abuse, Mr Clancy told the court. The third profile was run by who Madgin thought was a woman called Kelly, who told him she had a daughter aged seven who she had been abusing since she was a baby, as well as a one-year-old. An "extremely graphic conversation" followed about how Madgin and Kelly were going to rape the baby, while the 41-year-old also requested that the schoolgirl wear her uniform when they met. Mr Clancy explained that Madgin asked the "mother" what level of sexual abuse the girl could "tolerate". Madgin also told Kelly he was 13 when he realised he was a paedophile but had "fought the feelings for 25 years" before "accepting what I am". Madgin's home was raided on February 23 this year, with hundreds of indecent images of children found on two laptops and a phone. The footage had been collected over five years and included pictures and videos of very young children being abused. Madgin admitted six counts, including attempting to arrange the commission of the rape of children, and will be sentenced on Tuesday. Previously, Madgin was jailed for eight months in 2009 for 19 offences which included making and distributing indecent images of children and causing a child to engage in sexual activity, the court heard. Mitigating, Charles Creasey said Madgin is married and works full-time but "fully accepts having a deviant sexual interest in children".