A young pervert who sent a series of disgusting messages to two young girls was caught after he discovered her was actually talking to undercover police officers.

Tommy Debrick used instant messaging apps to target the two girls, who told him they were 12-years-old and urged them to perform sex acts before sending one of them a photograph of his genitals.

The 20-year-old used the monicker North East Six Inch when he started contacting his would-be targets and urging them to send him explicit images.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the decoys categorically told the defendant their ages before Debrick sent them the sickening messages in April last year when he was a teenager himself.

When police raided his North East home, they recovered his digital devices where they discovered two indecent images and the onesie that he was wearing when he sent a picture of his genitals as during the police decoy sting.

Debrick, of Nightingale Road, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to two charges of attempting to cause/incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity and a charge of making indecent images of children.

Nigel Soppitt, mitigating, said the defendant had no intention of making physical contact with either child and was carrying out a ‘deluded’ fantasy.

He added: “This was simply fantasy and there was never any intention to carry it out.”

The lawyer said Debrick was is a settled address and settled relationship with someone who was aware of his convictions.

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Judge Paul Watson KC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, described the messages as ‘graphic and obscene’ as he passed a suspended sentence for Debrick.

He said: “There was no evidence that you would act and commit sexual offences with any of these, ostensible’ children.”

Debrick was given an 18-month prison sentence suspended for 18-months and ordered to attend 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days to address his deviant behaviour.

He was also told to sign on the sex offenders’ register for ten years and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the same period of time.