A paedophile has been given lifelong anonymity after threatening to kill himself.
The unnamed offender was snared by police before being jailed for 16 months at Antrim Crown Court in Northern Ireland this week.
Prior to the sentencing, he remained under an interim reporting ban from his first appearance where it was suggested he would take his own life if his identity was to become known.
The man - who is in his 30s - attempted to communicate sexually with two female children between November 2021 and January 2022.
Although he believed the people he was messaging were 12-year-olds, he was actually speaking with Yorkshire and Humberside officers acting as decoys.
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It was reported that conversations were "sexual in nature" and included him sending indecent images and asking for them.
The man was jailed for 16 months at Antrim Crown Court in Northern Ireland (Alamy Stock Photo)After his arrest, by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the man said he knew the girls were decoys and he was "trying to catch them out in a lie", reports Armaghi.
When asked why he didn’t report this to police he contended “it was the thrill of catching them out”.
This was rejected by the judge, who described the response as “disquieting”.
The man will have to serve six months in custody before being released on licence. He will remain unidentified.
The judge said the sentence was “proportionate and commensurate with the gravity of offending …while it is true these were decoys, his intention was to be engaged with 12-year-old girls.
"Offending took place over the course of some 50 days and entailed him sending a naked picture of himself and inviting (the decoys) to send naked pictures of themselves to him."
Six months of the sentence will be served in prison, with the rest out on licence.
Press submissions against the reporting restriction set out how the defendant initially contended he wasn’t concerned for himself but the impact on his family.
This does not quantify an identity ban, amid a number of other points including the custodial sentence affording mitigating factors to prevent self-harm such as immediate placement on a Supporting Prisoners At Risk (SPAR) scheme.
'My son's a drug lord - he's threatened to kill me but I still love him'
The defendant is the second convicted paedophile in the UK to be granted lifetime anonymity having threatened to self-harm.
The Samaritans is available 24/7 if you need to talk. You can contact them for free by calling 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or head to the website to find your nearest branch. You matter.
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