Prison for Mansfield pervert who groomed what he thought was 13-year-old girl
A Mansfield pervert who groomed what he thought was a 13-year-old girl before telling police what he did was “a stupid and disgusting mistake” has been locked up.
Barry Parkin sent pictures of his private parts to a decoy profile called "Jas" on Snapchat, between July 23 and 28 last year, said Sarah Phelan, prosecuting.
Parkin, aged 58, encouraged "Jas" to perform a sexual act, and, when she told him she was wearing pyjamas, said: "Shame not knickers and bra LOL."
He said she looked “amazing” and hoped to see her naked. He discussed her sexual experiences before apologising for sending the pictures.
Parkin, of Broxtowe Drive, Mansfield admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to incite sexual activity with a child when he first appeared at Nottingham Crown Court.
Rebecca Barrowcliffe, mitigtaing, said Parkin had been isolated and under pressure while caring for his wife of 22 years.
"He should have reached out to his wife or his GP,” she said. “He liked the attention the decoy showed him. He is terrified for him and his wife.”
She said he had taken “significant steps” to address his offending behaviour by working with the Lucy Faithful Foundation and the Aurora Project.
Ms Barrowcliffe said Parkin, a welder with no previous convictions, deserved credit for his guilty plea.
"She made her purported age crystal clear,” Recorder Thomas Moran told him on Thursday.
“It's clear to me that was part of the attraction."
Parkin received a 28 month prison sentence and was made the subject of a ten-year sexual harm prevention order.