The 40-year-old also bought make-up and clothes as gifts for the youngster after agreeing to pay her father £200 and a Burger King meal for his daughter’s services.
But she was really an undercover police officer posing as her dad.
And when he went to the defendant’s address to arrest him two days before the arranged meet, O’Neil tried to flee out of the back door.
But he was caught and the gifts he had bought were found at his home.
Jailing him for three years at Derby Crown Court, Recorder Balraj Bhattia said: “You discussed when, where and how much you would pay to sexually abuse what you thought would be a seven-year-old girl.
You booked a Travelodge in Swanwick, you discussed exactly what could and could not be done (to her).
“You went on to explain that you were sexually aroused and how much you were looking forward to this particular encounter.
“This was grooming.”
The offence took place in April of this year and O’Neil, of Casson Street, Ironville, pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a girl aged under 13 following sexual grooming.
As well as the prison term, Recorder Bhattia handed O’Neil a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
He will also be on the sex offender register for the rest of his life.
Sadly, child sex cases are becoming more prevalent in our courtrooms.
The rise of online vigilante paedophile hunters, alongside the terrific work being done by the police’s child protection teams, is resulting in successful convictions.
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