A British paedophile from Plymouth arrested in the USA on a child sex charge told his UK neighbours he was flying out to visit a woman with whom he had an Internet romance, it has emerged.

John David Michael Brewer was charged with entering the United States to molest a six-year-old girl, US authorities said.

He was detained in Minnesota after customs officials allegedly found a sexually suggestive photograph of a young girl in his luggage.

A neighbour who lives above Brewer's basement flat in Fairview Avenue, Plymouth, said the 39-year-old had told her he was going to the States to visit a woman he met via the Internet.

Pensioner Gillian Fenn said: 'He mentioned a woman in America some time back. He said he hadn't met her but had a photograph of her. He said it was a romance and just before he went, he referred to her as his fiancee. I thought 'good for him'.'

Reacting to news of Brewer's arrest, she said: 'I feel absolutely horrified now. It gives me the creeps.'

It is alleged that Brewer flew to Minneapolis St Paul International Airport on December 13 to meet a woman who said he could have a sexual relationship with both herself and her six-year-old niece.

According to a law enforcement statement, submitted as evidence, Brewer's bags were searched when he told a customs official that he had a previous conviction in Britain for 'indecent contact with a minor'.

He had declared on his entry papers that he had previously been convicted in Britain of indecently touching a five-year-old child, they said. He told them he had served three years probation for the offence.

He was expected to appear in court in Minneapolis later this week, although a date is yet to be set, said the Minnesota US District Attorney's Office.

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