A pervert who tried to have sex chats with girls aged 12 and 13 has walked free from court.
Peter De Hart thought he was communicating with children but he was actually messaging three undercover police officers working for Northumbria Police's Paedophile Online Investigation Team, who had set up decoy profiles pretending to be young girls.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the first profile, purporting to be a 12-year-old girl, was contacted on a website called Chatiw in April last year. Omar Ahmad, prosecuting, said: "The defendant engaged first and asked if she liked older men. She immediately told him she was 12. This didn't perturb him."
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After being told the "girl" was in Birmingham, De Hart, of Gateshead, sent a picture of his face and claimed he was staying in a hotel in that city. Mr Ahmad said: "He asked if she had been with a man or boy and said he didn't like virgins. He asked if she would go to his hotel after she finished school and asked her to wear something tight."
The second undercover officer was contacted on messaging app Kik by De Hart in May last year. After being told she was 12, De Hart asked if she was single and said he was looking to meet girls and that she was "cute".
Mr Ahmad said: "He sent a picture of his face and told her she was a little young and he could get in trouble for talking to her." He said he had a flat near where she was and could pick her up, giving her a time for them to meet and making crude remarks about what he would do to her.
Mr Ahmad said: "He provided an address of a hotel and a description of what he would be wearing and what car he would be in."
The third undercover officer was running a profile purporting to be a 13-year-old girl on Chatiw and Snapchat when De Hart made contact last June. He again asked if she liked older men and was not put off by the revelation of her age.
Mr Ahmad said: "He sent a picture of his face, asked if she was single, told her she was cute and asked for a picture of her legs. He asked if she was a virgin, again saying he doesn't like virgins."
De Hart was arrested at his home in July last year. He claimed he thought the profiles were likely to be adults or adults posing as children and said he had no intention of meeting them as part of the "fantasy".
The 52-year-old, of Durham Road, Gateshead, who has two previous convictions - for damaging property and benefit fraud - pleaded guilty to three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and was sentenced to 15 months suspended for two years by Judge Stephen Earl. He must also sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.
Matthew Hopkins, defending, said there were references for De Hart and added that he has no previous convictions for sexual offences. He added: "He is not drinking anymore, he has found work and is keeping himself busy to make sure he is not going on this website - he has not been on Chatiw since.
"At the time he felt it was harmless but now knows what he did was very wrong. He had no intention of meeting them. Whenever they told him where they were from he said he was there too. He was in Gateshead the whole time."
