Mansfield pervert who tried to groom a 13-year-old girl was really talking to an undercover cop
A Mansfield pervert who tried to groom a 13-year-old girl but was really talking to an undercover police officer later tried to cover his tracks, a court has heard.
Mark Murray sent a friend request to a police decoy on Snapchat on January 27, and said: "I talk dirty and send nudes."
He asked what she would send and how far away from home she was, before requesting nude pictures and a striptease on video, said Annabel Lenton, prosecuting.
Murray, 37, sent two pictures of his private parts and one of him performing a sexual act before asking what colour the girl’s knickers were.
He later apologised and said they should be friends.
The Met passed the information to Nottinghamshire Police and Murray was arrested on February 11.
Officers found he had deactivated his Snapchat account and factory reset his mobile in a bid to cover his tracks.
Indecent images of a girl, aged 11 to 12, were found on his phone, but it is not known how he came by them, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
Murray was cautioned by police for attempted sexual communications with a child in 2021, when he engaged in sexualised chat with a 14-year-old police decoy.
Richard Bennett, mitigating, said Murray was "terrified at the prospect of custody" and described him as a man of "limited intellect" who was "extremely isolated."
Murray denied having a sexual interest in children, but had been open with the author of a probation report.
"The public will be better protected in the longer term if he addresses his issues with the help of the probation service," Mr Bennett said.
"It may be that this already-damaged man may come out of prison even more damaged. Work will be done with him to see the error of his ways."
Murray, of Rosemary Street, Mansfield, admitted attempted sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity, and two counts of possessing indecent images.
On Tuesday, Judge Julie Warburton imposed a three-year community order with 30 rehabilitation days and 180 hours of unpaid work.
She ordered him to undertake mental health treatment for 18 months. He was placed on the sex offenders register, and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for five years.