A MAN who offered to pay a ‘teenage’ girl £100 to send him naked pictures of herself has been given a three-year community order.

Patrik Sandor was snared by members of the online paedophile hunting group The Guardians of the North when he started chatting to a decoy on a dating site.

The 20-year-old sent the decoy a picture of his genitals before offering to pay for the '14-year-old’ to do the same, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Ian West, prosecuting, said the-then teenager had exchanged messages for three months using the profile name of Sexygay18 before the police were alerted to his online behaviour.

He said: "He instigated the contact saying he was a 19-year-old male and there then followed a series of messages where the defendant invited the decoy to engage in sexual intercourse.

"He sent a picture of his penis and he solicited a picture of the decoy's genitals - which wasn't returned.

"The decoy made it clear she was 14 and he offered her £100 if she complied."

Sandor, of Victoria Road, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, between May and July, 2020.

Nigel Soppitt, in mitigation, said his client had learning difficulties and mental health issues and stopped sending the messages before he was arrested in September 2020.

"The defendant's age of 20 belies his mental age," he said.

Recorder Paul Reid sentenced him to the community order to help the defendant address his offending behaviour.

"Typical of these exchanges, where you indulged in a fairly lengthy conversation, you sent a picture of your penis and asked for a picture of her genitals,"

I hope this has served as a lesson for you. You need help and I will provide you with the means to get that help with this community order."

Sandor was ordered to sign on the sex offenders' register for five years and made subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the same period. He was also ordered to take part in 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

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