A paedophile who thought he was having sick chats with teenage girls claimed they were actually adults engaging in 'roleplay'.
Adam Ali, 35, believed he was chatting with 13-year-old girls called 'Becky' and 'Noemi'.
But he was actually having sexualised conversations with undercover police officers, who used his messages to prosecute him.
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Ali, who admitted being a man in his 30s, did not stop when the 'girls' told him how old they were.
"If anything you were encouraged," a judge said.
After being arrested, Ali claimed he believed the 'girls' were actually adults taking part in 'roleplay', Manchester Crown Court heard.
But he pleaded guilty to trying to have sexual communications with two 'children', and avoided jail after a judge heard he had become isolated.
Ali began to send messages to the first 'girl' after telling her he was 'horny', in February 2019.
He sent her a video and a picture of his penis, and asked for images of her.
He continued to send sexualised messages, before the undercover officer stopped replying and contact ended a few weeks later.
Ali was snared by a second undercover officer, who also posed online as a 13-year-old girl.
His messages to this 'girl' were sexual 'from the outset', prosecutor Justin Hayhoe said.
Ali sent her a picture of his penis and told her she was 'sexy'.
The messages lasted for a few days in April 2019, and he was arrested in August that year.
He accepted he was responsible for the messages, but said he often used chat rooms where adults over the age of 18 engage in roleplay.
Defending, Sebastian Gardiner said unemployed Ali suffers from physical and mental health issues, and had become socially isolated and sought refuge online.
Sentencing, Judge Patrick Field QC told Ali: "I have particular regard to the personal mitigation advanced on your behalf, in particular the element of personal isolation that you have experienced, that might well have led you into this rather dark corner of social media.
"You had said that you are ashamed of that which you did, and so you should be.
Ali, of Doric Close, Beswick, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and one count of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.
He received an 18 month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
He must sign the sex offender's register for 10 years.
