MAN CLAIMED PRANKSTER FRIENDS HAD SENT LEWD FACEBOOK MESSAGES TO 'GIRL'
A man claimed that his friends had sent a series of inappropriate messages to a girl via his Facebook account as a practical joke after he was caught in a paedophile hunter sting operation.Robert Youds stated that he told the girl, who was purportedly 13 years old, that she looked 'stunning' and asked if she wanted to have a bath with him during the disturbing conversations.
However, he was unaware that he was communicating with a decoy account created as part of an online trap, and he was ultimately reported by his own mother.
Liverpool Crown Court was informed on Tuesday that the 31-year-old sent a friend request to a profile established by the Guardians of the North group, which appeared to belong to the young girl, in March 2018.
Prosecutor Simon Parry explained that initial messages exchanged on Facebook Messenger were seemingly harmless but later became overtly sexual.
Youds, who resided on Hartington Road in West Derby, complimented her photos as 'stunning for her age' and sent topless pictures of himself.
He also inquired if she would like to take a bath with him and later shared images of himself lying in bed with his genitals exposed.
He offered to perform a sexual act and asked if she wanted to have intercourse.
When the hunters handed screenshots of the chat to Merseyside Police in February 2019, Youds was arrested immediately.
During his arrest, he claimed the messages were not his, asserting he did not even own a phone.
Nonetheless, his mother identified his iPad, which was seized and found to contain searches indicating a sexual interest in children.
Prosecutor Parry stated that Youds had been actively seeking child pornography on his device following work, revealing a disturbing sexual fixation on minors and exploiting any opportunity to connect with a child.
Further, the head of his bed matched the one in the photos sent to the girl.
During police interviews, Youds attempted to deflect responsibility, alleging that 'other people' were behind the messages.
He claimed that his 'unnamed friends' had set up fake Facebook accounts previously as jokes, and that the explicit photos had been taken from his online dating profile on Plenty of Fish.
Defence representative Stella Hayden described Youds as a 'young man with significant mental health difficulties,' revealing he had recently attempted suicide.
Although he had nine prior convictions for 11 offences, none were sexual in nature, and he had remained law-abiding since 2015.
Appearing via video link from HMP Liverpool, Youds admitted to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and to engaging in sexual communications with a minor.
He was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
Judge Andrew Menary KC, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool, stated that the increasingly explicit messages reflected a clear sexual desire towards the nonexistent girl.
Despite no prior sexual offences, his mental health issues and significant delays in addressing the case warranted immediate imprisonment.
Youds was also subject to a sexual harm prevention order and a notification requirement, each lasting 10 years.
The court ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the seized digital device.
