South Tyneside pervert's child abuse images found after undercover police '14-year-old boy' sex chat sting
A pervert's collection of child abuse images was found after he was caught in an undercover police sting trying to have sex chat with a 14-year-old boy.
Sean Sharman thought he was speaking to a schoolboy over Snapchat but the underage profile had been set up by specialist officers. Newcastle Crown Court heard the conversation turned sexual during a discussion about a Nexflix show's characters.
Prosecutor Rachel Kelly said said Sharman sent the fake teen graphic videos, asked for similar images in return and added: "The defendant told him he had a car and lived alone and they could go to his house together."
Miss Kelly said when police raided Sharman's home, in South Tyneside, and examined his computer devices they found 336 category A images, which is the most serious, 269 category B and 138 category C.
They also found 66 abuse images, across all three categories, that had been distributed. Miss Kelly said the children featured in the illegal images haul were as young as six months.
Sharman, 32, of no fixed address, admitted attempting to cause a child to look at images of sexual activity, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, three charges of making indecent photographs of children and three of distributing indecent photographs of children.
Robin Patton, defending, told the court: "When he pleaded guilty, the Shields Gazette announced his conviction and invited he would be here today for sentence, so people from his former place of employment, who have no warm feelings towards him, have felt it necessary to witness this spectacular fall from grace.
"That is the reason two people in the public gallery are here, they are not here as supporters in any way."
Mr Patton said Sharman, who had been "living a lie" with a female partner, lost his relationship, his home and his job because of the offending but wants to work hard to get his life back on track.
Judge Stephen Earl sentenced Sharman, who has no other convictions, to two years suspended for two years with rehabilitation requirements. Sharman was ordered to sign the sex offenders register and abide by a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.