Prison for Mansfield pervert who groomed five teenage girls on Instagram

Ashley Haverkamp sent pictures of his genitals, and video of him performing sex acts, to five girls, aged between 11 and 14, on Instagram, between December 2020 and July 2022.

Brian Outhwaite, prosecuting, said Haverkamp, aged 32, engaged in sexualised communication with the girls who were clearly very young and talked some of them into sending him nude pictures.

When one victim said she would contact the police Haverkamp threatened to circulate an explicit image she had sent him on social media.

He also claimed to be a 15-year-old and used a false name to make it sound he was a lot closer to their ages than he was.

The parents of his victims raised the alarm and further examination of his computer revealed indecent images showing the rape of very young children.

Katrina Wilson, mitigating, said this will be the first time Haverkamp, who has no previous convictions or cautions, has been in custody.

A psychological report highlighted his many limitations, she said, including his “borderline intelligence”.

“He fully acknowledges he has done wrong and appeared genuine when he said he would never intentionally hurt a child,” Ms Wilson said.

“But there are also difficulties in his ability to differentiate between legal and illegal behaviour.

“He requires targeted adaptive intervention which will not be available to him in prison.

"He is a prime candidate for further rehabilitation - but we may be in a range too high for an alternative to custody.”

Haverkamp, of Newlands Drive, admitted sexual communications with a child, inciting sexual behaviour and possessing indecent images of children at an earlier hearing.

Jailing him for six years on Tuesday, Recorder Michelle Heeley KC said she gave him credit for his guilty pleas, psychological issues, and previous good character.

He will serve up to two thirds in custody and will be put on sex offenders register for life. A ten year sexual harm prevention order was also imposed to monitor his use of the internet.