A pervert who sent a picture of his penis to a someone he thought was a 14-year-old child and told them he would teach them how to masturbate has narrowly avoided jail.

Stefan German, from Queenborough, started communicating with a child called “Nicky” and the chat soon turned to a sexual nature, but what he didn’t realise was that he was talking with an adult decoy who was part of a vigilante group.

The 27-year-old was later charged with offences after his depraved actions came to light when screenshots of their conversations were sent to police, but at his sentencing hearing, his solicitor told magistrates he’d been “sucked into communicating” with the vigilante decoy.

The court also heard when police went to his home on the Isle of Sheppey, they found several devices which contained indecent images and videos of children.

German, of Harold Street, Queenborough, was later charged with attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and four counts of making indecent photographs of children and admitted all the offences when he appeared in court in December.

At the time, a pre-sentencing report was ordered and German returned to Maidstone Magistrates’ Court last Monday, to hear his fate.

Magistrates were told he attempted to communicate with the decoy child between July 1, 2023, and July 3, the same year and made category B images and videos and C indecent videos and photographs before October 10 that same year.

Sidumiso Moyo, prosecuting, said: “He was in communication with what he thought was a 14-year-old child, but it was an adult posing as a child as part of a vigilante group, so was a decoy.

“Screenshots of the conversations were sent to Humberside Police who then contacted Kent Police and it was found he had been speaking to the decoy and had sent a picture of his erect penis to the child and told them he would teach them how to masturbate.

“Kent Police then went to his home and his grandparents opened the door to say he had gone to work early and he was later arrested and taken to Medway Police Station.

“His room was searched and multiple exhibits were seized including mobile phones and an iPad and a Samsung mobile and images and videos were found on them and they were category B images and a video and a category C video and images.”

Ms Moyo also told the bench the Crown was applying for a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to be placed on German in a bid to curb any future offending.

Robert Weston, defending said his client had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and it was indeed a decoy case and that the category C and B images were in single figures.

He added: “There were not as many as some cases and he was sucked into communicating with the decoy and is thoroughly ashamed, it’s taken a massive toll on his life and his outlook in general.

“He’s not at a high risk of reoffending and his mum and dad are here outside and he lives with his nan and grandad and supports them.

“If you suspend a sentence, there is room for him to be managed in the community so this doesn’t happen again.

“He earns £20k a year.”

Magistrates told German they felt his offences had passed the custody threshold but they were not sending him to prison immediately and would suspend the sentence.

As a result, they jailed him for eight months for all the offences but suspended the term for 18 months and told German if he stayed out of trouble in that time he wouldn’t go to prison.

He was also ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work and attend 20 rehabilitation sessions.

German was also issued with a 10-year SHPO which will see police monitor his conduct over that period and also restrict his behaviour online and with who he can communicate with.

He must also pay a victim surcharge of £187 as well as £85 court costs.