Restaurant boss who called himself a 'bad man' sent 'disgusting and repugnant' sexual videos and pictures to what he thought was a 12-year-old girl
- Mark Collinson, 41, has been handed a suspended sentence for his behaviour
- Hull Crown Court heard how he referred to the conversations as 'our little secret'
A restaurant boss who sent 'disgusting and repugnant' sexual content to a fake 12-year-old girl has been handed a suspended sentence and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Mark Collinson, a fish restaurant manager from North Cave in Yorkshire, messaged who he thought was a child under the fake name 'Fandago.'
During their X-rated chat Collinson admitted he was a 'bad man' for talking to her and that he 'could get in loads of trouble' for it.
Hull Crown Court heard how Collinson called their conversations 'our little secret' and asked her to keep quiet about the messages.
Collinson, 41, admitted attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity during communication between January 25 and February 22, 2022.
Mark Collinson (pictured), a fish restaurant manager from North Cave in Yorkshire, messaged who he thought was a child under the fake name 'Fandago.' During their X-rated chat Collinson admitted he was a 'bad man' for talking to her and that he 'could get in loads of trouble' for it
Annabelle Coakley, prosecuting, said that Collinson under the false name sent a message on the Kick social media site to an undercover decoy, who was posing as a 12-year-old girl.
The decoy accepted Collinson's invitation to chat and he also added her on Snapchat.
They began communicating and Collinson sent a number of explicit images of himself, including committing a sex act. Mis Coakley said: 'The communication from the defendant was sexual in nature.'
The court heard that when the fake girl told Collinson that she was aged 12 and he laughingly replied: '12?!!' before making references to watching pornography and asked her explicit questions.
On a few occasions, he asked the girl if she was still in school.
He also sent a revealing video of himself and asked her if he should 'lose' the boxer shorts that he was wearing. He sent a video of himself committing a sex act. 'You need a spanking,' he said.
Collinson sent intimate images of himself and he told the decoy girl that she was as 'cute as f***'.
He told her: 'I'm a bad man for talking to you lol. Could get in loads of trouble. It's our secret.'
Hull Crown Court. Collinson, who has no previous convictions, was given a 14-month suspended prison sentence, 100 hours' unpaid work and 30 days' rehabilitation. He was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and he must register as a sex offender for 10 years. He was ordered to pay £425 costs
He later sent further images of himself and explicit messages and asked her for a picture before enquiring about what underwear she was wearing.
On February 14 2022, Collinson sent her an image of a heart and the message 'Happy Valentine's Day'. The conversations continued until February 22 2022.
Collinson was arrested on May 7 of that year at his home. He claimed during the police interview that he believed that the decoy was an adult and that he had done nothing wrong.
Ben Hammersley, mitigating, said that Collinson had shown regret and shame and he had difficulty expressing what had happened. He pleaded guilty, acted out of character and struggled to accept what he had done.
Mr Hammersley said: 'There has been no police involvement in the two-and-a-half years since then.
'He is quite rightly disgusted by his behaviour.'
'There is no other word for it. It's disgusting and repugnant.'
Recorder Paul Reid told Collinson: 'For some time, you have had an unnatural and unlawful sexual interest in children. Kick is well known to be used by children as a social media platform.
'The decoy was posing as a 12-year-old. You invited her to chat and you did so over a period of about a month. This was both on Kick and Snapchat. You went on in the conversation to talk about pornography and sex.'
Collinson, who has no previous convictions, was given a 14-month suspended prison sentence, 100 hours' unpaid work and 30 days' rehabilitation. He was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and he must register as a sex offender for 10 years. He was ordered to pay £425 costs.
