A paedophile who sent a photograph of his penis to someone he believed to be a teenage girl claimed he attended a railway station to meet a friend and take part in trainspotting.
He asked the decoy about her school blazer and asked her if she wanted to sleep with him.
Michael Powell, 35, of Caldicot, began speaking to who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl online but he was actually speaking to a member of a paedophile-hunting group. He asked the decoy if she’d like a relationship and she’d like to get to know him.
A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Monday heard the defendant was “obsessed” with the decoy’s school blazer and asked her if she wore it to bed and if he could wear it.
The decoy said her mother wouldn’t let travel to Wales but he offered to drive to see her, told her he loved her, and they exchanged clothed photographs of each other. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here
Prosecutor Jason Howells said Powell asked the decoy if he could take her to school. He also asked her if she liked leather jackets and asked her for photos of herself in her school blazer and uniform.
The defendant went on to ask the decoy if she would sleep with him and when she said she hadn’t had sex and felt nervous he asked her to be his girlfriend.
He made comments about his penis and later sent a photo of his penis exposed.
A member of a paedophile-hunter group contacted Powell pretending to be an adult woman and they arranged to meet at Severn Tunnel Junction railway station.
At the station the defendant was confronted but he claimed he was meeting a friend and was trainspotting.
He was arrested by police and his phone was seized, which revealed the messages with the decoy.
Powell, of Sudbrook Road, later pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. The court heard he has no previous convictions.
In mitigation Hilary Roberts said his client has learning difficulties and has struggled since his childhood. The barrister said when the defendant left school he was left with no support and he would be vulnerable if sent to prison.
Recorder Ben Blakemore said: “You deliberately and repeatedly messaged who you thought was a 14-year-old girl and sent a photograph of your penis.”
Powell was sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for two years.
The defendant was also subjected to a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement, a sexual harm prevention order, and sex offender notification requirements for 10 years.
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