A PAEDOPHILE who preyed on young girls over the internet has been jailed for eight years.

Tony Allison used a webcam to film himself committing a sex act while his victims watched and also persuaded one young girl to send him a picture of her breasts.

The 41-year-old, of Baldwin Street, Easington Colliery, County Durham, attempted to arrange a meeting with one of the two complainants in order to have sex with her. But the teenager did not turn up.

Allison was convicted after a trial of five counts of indecency with a child, three offences of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one charge of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

Prosecutor Christine Egerton told Teesside Crown Court that Allison groomed the girls and also lied about his age in order to win their trust.

During his trial the jury were told of his previous convictions for possessing indecent photos.

Paul Cross, mitigating, said some of the offences dated back to 2003 and earlier.

He said: “It was a piece of behaviour dating from a particular period of his life.”

The barrister said he wished he could argue that Allison was a reformed character, but he conceded he could not.

Judge Tony Briggs said Allison had been “sexually obsessed” with contacting young girls over the internet. The judge agreed with a report that said he was a danger to children and posed a high risk of causing sexual harm.

He told him: “You admitted that you are a devious and manipulative man who is prepared to be quite unpleasant to get what he wants.

“Both of these girls thought you were younger and both were targeted by you because of their age and persuaded to witness your sexual activity or themselves engage [in it].”

Judge Briggs said he was quite satisfied that Allison intended to have sex with the second victim, which he regarded as a serious escalation of his offending.

The judge sentenced Allison to five years prison with an extended three year period, making eight years in total.

He will also have to report his whereabouts to police and is made subject to an indefinite sexual offences prevention order.