A NAÏVE teenager unwittingly fell for a paedophile-hunting group’s sting, believing he was chatting online with a 14-year-old girl.

The fake profile of the girl was set up by the Guardians of the North in June, 2017, and within days Harris Cameron began communicating with “her”.

Durham Crown Court heard despite being told she was only 14 he sent her an indecent image of himself and asked her to reciprocate, offering her bribes to do so, while he also sent her indecent images of children, telling her these were, “girls doing what they were told”.

Cameron, now 22, of Hustledown Gardens, Stanley, made admissions when arrested and pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a girl to engage in sexual activity and attempting to sexually communicate with a child. He also admitted four counts of distributing and three of making indecent images of children.

Liam O’Brien, mitigating, said the defendant, who has no previous convictions, was exposed to “entirely inappropriate” material through spending too much time on the Internet.

Describing him as “extremely naïve”, Recorder Nicholas Lumley imposed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, during which Cameron must take part in a sex offender community group programme. He will also be subject to sex offender registration for ten years and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, “until further order”.