An 'isolated' man who was snared by 'paedophile hunters' has been spared jail despite sending explicit sexual messages to a 13-year-old girl.
Nathan Yeo was sentenced at Preston Crown Court for a number of offences including sexual communication with a child, possessing extreme pornographic imagery, and possession of prohibited image of children.
The 28-year-old of Cunnery Meadow, Leyland, contacted three underage 'girls', aged 13 and 14, on the messaging app Wink. However, the girls were in fact decoy profiles set up by volunteer paedophile hunter groups, aimed at targeting potential sex offenders.
Yeo did also contact a fourth girl, a real 13-year-old, whilst on bail for the earlier offences. On March 14, 2023, Yeo sent a message to a decoy profile called 'Terri', who purported to be a 14-year-old girl. Niamh Ingham, prosecuting, told the court how the conversation "soon turned sexual" after the defendant learnt her age and Yeo asked to see pictures of the girl in her school uniform.
The court heard he also messaged 'Brook', 14, on March 21, asking to see her in school uniform and to send a video of her playing with her breasts and vagina. On the same day, Yeo messaged 'Zoe', 13, stating he was about to masturbate, sent photos of himself, and requested a video call with the girl.
The following day the paedophile hunter group, Silent Angels, visited Yeo at his home before calling police. After a search of his address, officers seized devices including his phone and laptop and found a number of images of varying severity, detailing children as young as six.
These included 17 Category A images, 10 Category B, three Category C, one extreme pornographic imagery, and prohibited images of children, the court heard.
Whilst on bail, Yeo was again arrested on July, 4, 2023, following messages sent to a real 13-year-old girl between June 12 and July 4. Communicating on online platform Quora, the court heard how the conversation quickly turned sexual in its nature, with Yeo stating he "wanted to have sex and ejaculate inside her" and sent explicit photographs of himself.
Kristian Cavanagh, mitigating, said Yeo has 'mild to moderate' learning difficulties, including autism and ADHD, and had been struggling with isolation at the time of the offences. The court heard how Yeo was brought up in the care system and eventually adopted by a "loving and supportive family."
Judge Michael Maher said despite the defendant's learning difficulties, he knew what he was doing was wrong and this would only be relevant in the sentence imposed.
Yeo was charged with sexual communication with a child, three counts of attempted sexual communication with a child, three counts of making indecent photographs of children, possessing extreme pornographic imagery and possession of prohibited image of children.
He was sentenced to two years in jail, suspended for 18 months. Yeo was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 15 years with Judge Maher telling him: "You have a lot on your plate for the next 15 years."
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