A pervert who was caught bombarding a 12-year-old girl with sexual messages after she told her mother has been spared jail.
Haydon van Henten, 19, began hounding the youngster after randomly adding her on Snapchat. He told the girl, who stays in Nottinghamshire, he was aged 13 before asking her to send him naked pictures of herself.
Creepy van Henten then sent a selfie which fuelled suspicion he was lying about his age. He then sent X-rated messages such as 'if you were in my room, I want to s**g, you' and 'I wish you were in my room so we can Netflix and chill' - slang for sexual activity.
The youngster ignored him but later revealed to her horrified mother what was happening online. The woman confronted van Henten before calling in police which led detectives to his home in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire.
First offender van Henten appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted sending sexual communications to the girl and taking indecent photos of children between January and June last year.
Sheriff Alasdair MacFadyen ordered him to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work and placed him under supervision for two years. He also put him on the sex offenders' register for two years.
Van Henten told police he had been sending messages from accounts including one named 'jameoconnor3820'. He said: "I've done stupid things in the past. I deleted messages and photos before you came.
"They images were all on my phone. I deleted six Snapchat accounts including Jamie O'Connor. I've been stupid, I've f****d up." A search of his phone found he had 16 images showing sickening abuse of children.
Depute fiscal Alice Carey said: "The complainer was contacted via Snapchat by an account in the name of Jameoconnor3820.
"Early in the conversation the girl advised she was 12 years of age with Jameoconnor3820 replying that he was a 13-year-old boy.
"As the conversation developed, the account Jameoconnor3820 asked the complainer to exchange photographs, requesting naked pictures to which she refused.
"During the conversation Jameoconnor3820 sent a photograph of half his face and a bedroom in the background. The complainer believed that the person who sent the photograph to be older than 13 years of age.
"She felt scared and uncomfortable with the messages she received and began to ignore the account." The prosecutor added: "Her mother contacted the police and provided screenshots of the conversation to the police.
"A subscriber check confirmed the user of said Snapchat account email address and IP address belonged to the accused." Sheriff MacFadyen said: "These are very serious offences."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
