Mansfield pervert wanted ‘naughty fun’ with 13-year-old female decoys
A Mansfield pervert who groomed what he thought were two 13-year-old girls faced prison when he failed to register a change of address with police, a court has heard.
Matthew Tindle joined the messaging platform Kick under a false name for “naughty fun” and asked the first girl to send him a nude picture of herself and if she watched porn, Nottingham Crown Court was told.
He sent her pictures of his genitals and perfoming a sexual act before contacting a second girl. He asked if she wanted some fun and suggested she move onto Snapchat.
The offences happened in December 2022 and both girls were really decoy profiles, the court heard.
Tindle, now aged 24, admitted charges of attempting to cause a child under 13 to watch sexual activity and engage in sexual activity and sexual communication with a child, on June 25.
He was ordered to sign the sex offenders register, but, after he was evicted from his address on Westhill Drive, in August, Tindle failed to formally register with police when he moved to Rotherham.
The court heard he has previous convictions for violence, criminal damage and supplying drugs, and the grooming offences were in the most serious category because images were sent and solicited
Daniel Scothern, mitigating, said Tindle was "lonely and isolated" after moving to Mansfield without knowing anyone.
“That led him to the Kick messenger service and there is no defence for what happened there,” he said.
“He has been on remand since September 14. To say it has been a short sharp shock is perhaps an understatement.”
He said Tindle hopes to return to Mansfield and gain supported accommodation from the council.
On Thursday, Judge Stuart Rafferty KC told him: “There is no point saying, as you did to a probation officer, "I don't have any interest in young girls”, when those are precisely the people you were targeting.
“Each of them said they were 13. They weren't real people but you didn't know that.”
The judge said an alternative to custody would be to force him to confront who he really is and tackle his behaviour.
He imposed a three-year community order with a 43-session course and rehabilitation days. Tindle was also made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order.