A teenager tried to persuade what he thought were three girls, aged between 11 and 13, to send him explicit photos of themselves over a six-day period, a court heard.

Liam Hurst was arrested after police were alerted to his online activities by the paedophile-hunting group STOP, in September last year.

Hurst had been trying to persuade what he believed to be an 11-year-old girl to send him intimate photos in online exchanges over preceding days.

Durham Crown Court heard the 11-year-old, supposedly called ‘Gracie’, did not actually exist and was a decoy profile posted by a member of STOP, but the defendant was unaware of the ruse.

(Image: The Northern Echo) He maintained the online exchanges over six days, sending an image of himself performing a sex act while trying to elicit reciprocal pictures.

Members of STOP attended an address in Wheatley Hill, County Durham, where Hurst was living at the time and then notified police, on September 14, 2023.

Cainan Lonsdale, prosecuting, said it was in their follow-up inquiries that police discovered the defendant’s simultaneous exchanges with two other girls he befriended on social media, one aged 13 and the other also 11.

Mr Lonsdale said it was not clear if these girls existed as they could not be traced, but one did send an image supposedly of herself in her bra to Hurst when he pestered her for more explicit images.

While in two of the cases Hurst openly admitted he was aged 19 at the time, with a third girl he initially claimed he was 12 to gain her confidence.

One of the girls claimed to be a lesbian and Hurst asked her about any sexual activities she may have had with other like-minded girls.

When she would not send anything more explicit than an image of her feet, he called her a “wimp”.

Mr Lonsdale said Hurst was interviewed and accepted having consistently asked for images from the girls he believed he was corresponding with, in the preceding days.

He was asked about having mentioned meeting one of the girls and he was further asked if it was for sexual purposes, and he replied, “probably”.

Hurst, now 20, and of Rowley Fields, in Leicestershire, admitted three counts of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity and one of causing a child under 13 to watch sexual activity.

Mr Lonsdale said there were elements of grooming behaviour in each case.

Liam O’Brien, in mitigation, said they were “clearly serious offences” for which the defendant pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

Mr O’Brien said it is now more than a year since the offences were committed and the defendant is now living back in Leicestershire with his supportive family, who organised for him to work with a therapist to address his offending behaviour.

At the time of the offences the defendant was said to have been living with friends in County Durham after moving north following difficulties with a girlfriend back in Leicestershire.

Since returning to live with his family, there have been no further problems with his ex-girlfriend.

Mr O’Brien said while living in County Durham the defendant felt “isolated” and retreated to the solitude of his bedroom, where he turned to social media to occupy his time, leading to him committing the offences.

He added that the defendant suffered with developmental disorders which were consistent with him committing the offences.

(Image: The Northern Echo) Judge Chris Smith said it was “worrying” that the defendant was engaging in this type of activity with three separate girls at the same period of time.

He told Mr O’Brien there is a prospect of rehabilitation now the defendant is back with his supportive family.

Addressing Hurst, Judge Smith told him: “You have got yourself into a lot of trouble.” 

He told him he could have ended in Durham Prison which, following a recent visit, he said was, “not a very nice place”.

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Passing an 18-month prison sentence, he suspended it for two years, during which Hurst must take part in 30 rehabilitation activity days and complete up to 31 days of an accredited programme overseen by the Probation Service.

Judge Smith said the defendant must also complete 120-hours’ unpaid work, "to repay his debt to society."

He also made the defendant subject of notification as a sex offender and a range of restrictions under the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, both of which will run for ten years.