Guardians of the North snared pervert sending sexually explicit messages to 'teenager'

Matthew Hodgkiss asked the 'teenager' to send him photographs of her carrying out a sex act despite knowing he was talking online to a 14-year-old girl.

The 44-year-old was snared by a member of the Guardians of the North after they managed to trace his internet address and confront him at his Stockton home in June last year.

Teesside Crown Court heard how after police were called they found a small cannabis farm in the defendant's home he shared with his partner.

Matthew Hodgkiss

Chris Baker, prosecuting, said soon after Hodgkiss had contacted the girl on Facebook the conversation quickly became sexualised and he started to ask for naked photographs and wanted her to carry out a sex act after sending a picture of himself.

He said: "He asked for a picture and she sent one of her face but he asked her for one lower down, she said she only sent pictures of her face and the messages terminated at that stage."

Mr Baker said the decoy turned up Hodgkiss' home and identified him from a photograph he had sent her.

In police interview, he said he accepted he had sent the 'sexualised' messages but had no interest in young children.

The court heard how he had a previous offence of sexual assault on a female in 1998.

Hodgkiss, now of Londonderry Road, Stockton, pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a child into sexual activity and production of a Class B drug – cannabis.

Nicci Horton, in mitigation, said her client had made full admission in police interview despite him not having legal representation or an appropriate adult due to his learning difficulties.

Recorder Abdul Iqbal QC sentenced Hodgkiss to 24 months in custody and ordered the destruction of the cannabis farm.

He said: "You had been communicating with somebody who was in fact an adult posing as a female, she was posing as a 14-year-old girl. You communicated with that person thinking you were communicating with a 14-year-old girl.

"You were asking for that person for her mobile phone number and then asked for a photograph of her genitals and you made it plain what you were looking for. It is plain you sought sexual gratification from that behaviour."

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