Newport teenager sent indecent messages to girls
A Newport teenager who trawled social media to find girls he then tried to persuade to engage in sexual activity, has been sentenced to 18 months in youth custody.
The 17-year-old boy, contacted girls as young as 12 over Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, sending them indecent pictures and asking them if they would have sex with him.
The boy had messaged about half a dozen girls from across the country – the youngest of whom was 12.
Miss Abi Hall, prosecuting at Telford Youth Court, said the mother of a 14-year-old discovered intimate pictures on a device and contacted the police with her concerns.
"She describes confronting her daughter about the pictures she had found and warning her not to engage in that type of behaviour," Miss Hall said.
"She stated that she was vulnerable and was very concerned about her daughter."
The mother of the 12-year-old saw messages sent between the pair in which he talked about wanting to have sex with her, despite knowing her age.
He also asked a 15-year-old intimate questions and made sexual comments over WhatsApp.
The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, first made contact with a 14-year-old girl over Instagram and got her to send him pictures of herself.
He previously admitted six counts of inciting girls under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity between January and June this year. He also admitted breaching a restraining order by meeting with a girl under the age of 14 in March this year, which he was prohibited from doing.
The court heard that Birmingham Youth Court imposed the three-year restraining order in 2014, after he was convicted of sexual assault involving a child.
Mr John McMillan, for the defendant, said the youth had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and asked District Judge Nigel Cadbury to punish him with a community based sentence. But Mr Cadbury gave him 18 months youth custody for all the offences, to run concurrently.
The youth was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for two-and-a-half years and will be listed on the Sex Offenders Register. Mr Cadbury said: "These are serious offences to contact girls who are very young."
