Mum poses as 11-year-old daughter on Facebook to catch sex pest who asked her for "naked fun" (From The Northern Echo)

Mum poses as 11-year-old daughter on Facebook to catch sex pest who asked her for "naked fun"

6:00am Wednesday 13th March 2013 in News

FRIEND REQUEST: Matthew Jenart's picture on Facebook

A MOTHER who posed as her schoolgirl daughter to trap an internet sex pest told last night of her shock after hearing he had walked free from court.

Matthew Jenart, 28, dodged prison when a judge said he could not be sure what his intentions were when he asked the 11-year-old for "naughty fun".

Jenart - described in court as an isolated loner - lied about his age on Facebook and claimed to be a 15-year-old who was still at school on Teesside.

Even when he was challenged about his age and told his profile picture made him look older, he maintained the lie and asked if the girl wanted "fun".

Teesside Crown Court heard yesterday that the youngster's mother took over at the computer when she was told about the new friend request from Jenart.

Prosecutor John Gillette said the family had an online security regime in place which involved the girl telling her parents of anything suspicious.

Posing as her daughter, the woman asked Jenart what he meant by "fun" and he replied with the phrases "naughty fun" and "naked fun", said Mr Gillette.

When he was told she was only 11, he replied "It's only fun. Try it, you'll like it", and ended the conversation with "Cool, so you going to have fun?"

After his arrest last December, unemployed former hotel worker Jenart claimed he would not have taken matters further and it had just been a joke.

His lawyer, Graham Brown, said although probation officials expressed worries about his behaviour, Jenart had never come into contact with a youngster.

He commended the "extremely good computer protocol" of the girl's family, and told the judge, Recorder Robert Adams: "It is how it should be operated."

Jenart, of Laurel Avenue, Thornaby, near Stockton, received a three-year community order after he admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was also put on the sex offenders' register for five years, ordered to undergo a treatment programme and will be banned from working with children.

Mr Recorder Adams told Jenart: "The chat you entered into in with [the girl's] mother can only be described as disgusting when you consider you thought you were speaking to an 11-year-old and you were lying about your age.

The girl's mum, who lives in the Stockton area, said: "It's very disappointing that he didn't go to prison.

"I'm surprised the judge said he wasn't sure of his intentions. I was the one on the receiving end of his messages and they seemed pretty clear to me."

She added: "I felt physically sick exchanging messages with him. I kept coaxing him until he said he wanted ' naked fun' with my daughter, at that point I couldn't go on any further and I called in the police.

"It has left us feeling very disturbed and anxious. It made me think of Ashleigh Hall, that poor young girl from Darlington, who was murdered by a man who contacted her on Facebook.

"Cases like these show why parents have to be so careful. In our family we insist on complete trust and honesty, which means there are no secrets.

"When my daughter asked to join Facebook I had some reservations about it but like many parents in that situation I didn't want her to feel excluded from her friends who where on it.

"My conditions where that she told me every time she got a friend request and that I could access her account at any time.

"I'm so glad that I was cautious it's terrifying to think what might have happened if I had not."

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