Earls Barton man caught out after sexual chat with decoy posing as teen girl
A 28-year-old man tried to engage in sexual chat with a girl he believed to be 13.
Ryan Andrew Sheridan was before Northampton Crown Court on Thursday (September 19) to be sentenced for a single charge of attempted sexual communication with a young teenage girl.
Sheridan, of Manor Road, Earls Barton, was caught out by an online group of paedophile hunters who visited his home in April and livestreamed their encounter on Facebook.
He admitted the charge against him at the first opportunity in court and returned for sentencing this week.
The court heard how Sheridan had a host of issues including a global learning delay. He has a previous conviction for sexual assault on a young girl he carried out when he was 14-years-old.
Sentencing him, Recorder Adrian Jack said: “The reality is that you are someone who is extremely vulnerable to the temptations which the vigilante group had put in front of you.
"It seems to me to be a case that does not reach the custody threshold.”
He was given a 36-month community order that includes trail monitoring for six months, an accredited sex offender programme and 25 rehabilitation requirement days.