Convicted sex offender pretended to be a teenage boy in online conversations with young girls.

Convicted Sex Offender Impersonates Teen to Solicit Images

A convicted sex offender, Jamie Agnew, 40, pretended to be a teenage boy in online conversations with young girls in an attempt to get them to send revealing and intimate photographs of themselves, Hull Crown Court heard.

Agnew, from Skegness, used a decoy picture of a boy and installed software to disguise his phone's identification. He also used a virtual private network (VPN) to prevent police from monitoring his online activities.

Despite his efforts, the girls, including a 15-year-old, were "savvy enough" to avoid his sexual traps.

Agnew was caught during a routine police safeguarding check. He admitted to breaching a sexual harm prevention order and a suspended prison sentence, both imposed for previous offenses involving indecent images of children.

During a police visit, Agnew attempted to hide his mobile phones and a laptop. Police discovered that he had been communicating with underage girls on Snapchat, making requests for images and engaging in sexually suggestive conversations.

Agnew was found to have installed software on his phone that allowed him to hide his IP address and use a VPN to anonymize his online activities, in violation of the order.

Recorder Peter Makepeace QC sentenced Agnew to three years and nine months in prison, including an additional 18 months for breaching the suspended sentence.

"It's extremely fortunate that all the children seemed to be savvy enough not to have engaged too far with you," said Recorder Makepeace.