HGV driver caught in police sting after trying to sex chat 13-year-old girl

Jason Skinner sent graphic pictures and videos, of himself, to the fake child and told her "girls your age are such a turn-on".

The 42-year-old said the girl "best not tell anyone we've been chatting lol", asked her for pictures and suggested she engage in a solo sexual act.

Skinner said he and the underage teen could go to a hotel and that they could have sex but made no actual arrangement to meet.The court heard police were behind the fake profile, that had been set up on Chatiw, a free messaging app, which appeared to be of an 18-year-old teen.

The undercover officer told Skinner early in the conversation in February 2019 that he was talking to a 13-year-old, not an adult and their conversation continued over chat site Kik.

When police raided his home at Regent Road, Jarrow, his mobile phone was seized.

An examination revealed he had 16 category C images of children on the device.

Skinner, now of Deckham Terrace, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to two charges of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, two of attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity, attempting to engage in sexual conversation with a child and making indecent images of children.

He told police the conversations were "fantasy" and said: "I would never meet a young female and engage in sexual activity with her".

Sam Faulks, defending, said Skinner's use of pornography had "become more extreme" and he started using chat sites, which led him "onwards and downwards".

Mr Faulks said Skinner is "someone who can be worked with" and is in a stable relationship with a stable home.

Mr Faulks added: "The stability is in peril with an immediate custodial sentence.

"Remove the stability and the risk increases. Allow the stability to endure and the risk diminishes."

Mr Faulks said Skinner has worked all of his adult life and added: "An HGV driver, at the moment, is something almost like a public service."

Judge Stephen Earl adjourned sentence until next week and Skinner was granted bail in the meantime.

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