A WILDLIFE expert from Llandrindod Wells was jailed after making “vile suggestions” to an under-age girl in an internet chat room.

Daniel Atter, 37, who was awarded a Master’s degree while working as a curator at London’s Natural History Museum, wanted the 14-year-old girl to meet him at a Premier Inn.

A court heard he asked her to wear school uniform and tie her hair in bunches so he could hold onto them during a sexual act.

Atter, a former zookeeper at Woburn Safari Park, was a consultant in his own ecology company when he started viewing illegal internet sites.

His barrister Andrew Taylor said: “As a result in a lull in work he decided to experiment by looking at websites and chatrooms. It became more and more exciting to him.”

Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard Atter, of Montpellier Park, hooked up with the girl from Oxfordshire in a teenage chat room after viewing websites called “Jailbait” and “Junior Miss Pageant Nude”. He asked her to go to the Premier Inn close to Oxford United’s football ground telling her: “You can meet your new daddy for sex”.

Mr Taylor said: “There was never an actual meeting partly due to the geographical distance between them. There was talk of them meeting up but the young girl saw the dangers of speaking to him and was able to draw back.”

Police raided Atter’s home in Llandrindod Wells, Powys, on December 23, 2017, after receiving information about his internet activity.

They seized a laptop, a Hudl tablet and a USB drive containing more than 1,000 indecent images of children, some as young as five.

When interviewed, Atter said he said he had an interest in adult pornography and had only visited adult chatrooms. But Dyfed-Powys Police discovered Atter had met another under-age girl through Kik Messenger and told her he would be “happy to take her virginity”.

The court heard Atter had lost his reputation, his company DA Ecology based in Stroud, Gloucester, has folded and his long-term girlfriend has left him.

Mr Taylor said: “It is always sad when someone ends up in court at the age of 37 having never committed any offence whatsoever.

“These offences would not have occurred 30 to 40 years ago when it would have been almost impossible for a man of his age to meet a girl of 15.

“But the web has a dark side and Mr Atter fell into a trap which has led him to where he is today. He is a highly intelligent man who feels a great sense of responsibility and shame. He is prepared for his loss of liberty. This has been a very hard lesson for him.”

Balding Atter, dressed in a navy suit and tie, wept and shook, as the details of his crimes were given to the court. He admitted three charges of making indecent images of children, one of attempting to cause a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity and one of causing a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity. He was jailed for 21 months and ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Judge Peter Heywood told him: “You are an intelligent man with professional standing – it’s sad to see someone of your calibre in the dock.

“You made vile suggestions to a 14-year-old girl – it was totally inappropriate and disgraceful conduct, it was however out of character.”