A CONVICTED paedophile has pleaded guilty to attempting to rape a woman in Warrington.

John Whitfield, of Layton Close in Birchwood, appeared via video link at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday for a plea hearing.

The 37-year-old also admitted two counts of sexually assaulting the victim, who cannot and must not be identified for legal reasons.

At the time of the offence, Whitfield was already on the sex offender register for an offence committed in 2019.

He sent sexually explicit messages to what he believed was a 12-year-old girl, but this was in fact a member of a paedophile hunter group.

He served three years behind bars for the offence, and was jailed once again in 2023 after sending threatening text messages to a parish councillor.

Represented by Maria Masselis, Whitfield pleaded guilty to all three sexual offences and has been remanded in custody since his arrest.

He is due to be sentenced next month and was warned by judge David Swinnerton to ‘expect a lengthy prison sentence’.