Mark Collinson who is a restaurant boss sent ‘disgusting and repugnant’ sexual content to a 12-year-old girl under the fake name ‘Fandago.’
The fish restaurant, 41, has been handed a suspended sentence and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Court heard how Collinson called their conversations ‘our little secret’ and asked her to keep quiet about the messages.
His Admission
He admitted attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity during communication between January 25 and February 22, 2022.
Annabelle Coakley, prosecuting, said that Collinson under the false name sent a message on the Kick social media site to an undercover decoy, who was posing as a 12-year-old girl.Â
It Was a Decoy
The decoy accepted Collinson’s invitation to chat and he also added her on Snapchat.
They began communicating and Collinson sent a number of explicit images of himself, including committing a sex act. Mis Coakley said: ‘The communication from the defendant was sexual in nature.’
Court Heard
The court heard that when the fake girl told Collinson that she was aged 12 and he laughingly replied: ’12?!!’ before making references to watching pornography and asked her explicit questions.
On a few occasions, he asked the girl if she was still in school.
He also sent a revealing video of himself and asked her if he should ‘lose’ the boxer shorts that he was wearing. He sent a video of himself committing a sex act. ‘You need a spanking,’ he said.
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Evidences Against Him
Collinson sent intimate images of himself and he told the decoy girl that she was as ‘cute as f***’.
He told her: ‘I’m a bad man for talking to you lol. Could get in loads of trouble. It’s our secret.’
He later sent further images of himself and explicit messages and asked her for a picture before enquiring about what underwear she was wearing.
On February 14 2022, Collinson sent her an image of a heart and the message ‘Happy Valentine’s Day‘. The conversations continued until February 22 2022.Â
Collinson was later arrested and claimed during police interview that he believed that the decoy was an adult and that he had done nothing wrong.
Collinson has been given a 14-month suspended prison sentence, 100 hours’ unpaid work and 30 days’ rehabilitation.
He was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and he must register as a sex offender for 10 years as he was ordered to pay £425 costs.
