A convicted sex offender, Jordan Saunders, 25, has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison for sending indecent images of himself to a 14-year-old girl on Instagram.

Saunders, who was previously convicted in 2017 of three counts of sexual activity with a child, initiated contact with the girl in February, starting with general conversation. Four days later, he sent two indecent images accompanied by inappropriate messages.

Prosecuting, Keely Harvey, revealed that the images were set to disappear after being opened. However, the girl's parents, who regularly check their daughter's phone for safety, discovered the images and messages. They identified Saunders and reported him to the police.

The victim, now 15, stated that Saunders had asked for an inappropriate picture of her, which she refused to send. She found his messages "weird and inappropriate" and often ignored them. Initially, Saunders denied knowing the victim when questioned by police.

In an impact statement read in court, the victim described feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable by Saunders' actions. She stated, "I felt disgusting and didn't want anyone else to do this to me. I cut all my hair off so no grown-up men would want to do what he did."

Saunders, of Bramble Close, Eastleigh, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the requirements of a sex offenders register, engaging in sexual communication with a child, and breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

Mitigating, Eve Shelley, stated that Saunders is seeking counselling following the incident. She argued that further imprisonment would negatively impact his mental health.

Judge Nicholas Rowland deemed Saunders to be "dangerous" and a risk to girls. In addition to his prison sentence, Saunders will remain on the sex offenders register for life and be subject to a new sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.