Leeds pervert, 52, gave sex 'advice' to teenage girl and wanted swimsuit selfie
A pervert who latched onto a teenage girl online encouraged her to masturbate and wanted photos of her in a swimsuit.
John Best had little idea he was talking with a decoy profile set up by a paedophile hunter group.
He was later confronted at his home in front of his family by the group who livestreamed the sting.
The 52-year-old appeared at Leeds Crown Court this week where he admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to incite a child into sexual activity.
Prosecutor Emily Jenkins said the profile of a supposed 14-year-old girl was placed on the app, Meet24, and Best made contact in May last year.
He was told from the outset of her age and told her he was 46. The conversation quickly turned sexual and Best encouraged her to masturbate, said he wanted a selfie of her in her swimming costume and told her she was “sexy”.
He confessed to her his comments were “inappropriate”, but continued with the chat for around five days.
A second fake profile purporting to be a 42-year-old woman was created by the group and made contact with Best to glean details of where he lived, before the group was able to confront him.
Following the sting, the police were called and Best was arrested. His phone was seized which was later found to contain the conversations with the fake profiles.
During his police interview, Conway, of Brander Road, Gipton, made largely no comments.
No mitigation was offered by his barrister after Judge Ray Singh said he would not lock him up.
Judge Singh said it was “rare” that offenders plead guilty as early as Conway.
He gave him 18 months’ jail, suspended for two years, and 35 rehabilitation days with probation.
He was put on the sex offender register for 10 years, and he will be brought back to court on March 19 so the terms of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) can be confirmed.