A man has been sentenced for sharing explicit messages online with what he thought were children - but were actually undercover police officers.
Luke Tilsley, 24, of Station Road, Little Fransham, was handed a 28-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, at Norwich Crown Court on Wednesday.
He admitted five counts of attempted sexual communication with a child, three counts of making indecent images of children and attempting to get a child to watch sexual activity.
Between May 2023 and January 2024, Tilsley communicated online with two individuals he believed to be girls aged 12 and 13, sending them explicit messages, photos and videos.
He also asked them to send him naked images of themselves, but in reality, the 'girls' were actually undercover police officers, tasked with trying to identify offenders online.
Tilsley was arrested in May 2024 and a search of his mobile phone revealed similar explicit communications with a girl who said she was 15, as well as a collection of indecent images of children.
Detective Constable Paul Atkinson of Norfolk Constabulary said: "While Tilsley's victims in this case were fictional, the things he said to them were not.
"These graphic conversations and videos are something no child should ever have to experience.
"Tilsley also had numerous illegal images of children on his device."
In addition to the suspended sentence, Tilsley was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register, given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to pay £933 in court costs and victim surcharge.
DC Atkinson added: "Anyone who accesses these kinds of images is creating and fuelling a demand that can only be met by the further abuse of real victims.
"We will continue to work tirelessly to bring before the courts those who attempt to prey on children online where they think nobody can see what they are doing."
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