Stephen Lancaster used six different aliases on the online photo sharing social media platform and had sexual encounters with a Teesside schoolgirl.
During one encounter, the 46-year-old messaged a girl and asked, “Can I see your boobs?”
After police seized the Marton man’s iPhone, they discovered a number of illegal images and videos of children. Lancaster appeared in Teesside Crown Court on Monday for sentencing.
Prosecutor Robin Turton described how police learned that the defendant’s email address had been assigned a Snapchat profile. Lancaster was arrested in Middlesbrough last September and his iPhone was confiscated.
The court heard how his email address was logged into the device and how the camera roll contained images of “children in swimsuits.” Officers discovered six Snapchat aliases with “sexualized” chat history after forensically examining his phone.
‘Are we going to get naughty?’ said one, and ‘Can I see your boobs?’ said another. The device also contained obscene images and videos.
Lancaster’s phone contained two category B files – one image and one video – as well as 20 category C images of children. These offences occurred between June 2019 and September of last year.
Lancaster admitted to police that he had indecent images and used Snapchat aliases during an interview.
Michele Turner stated during mitigation that Lancaster has a “desire to work with agencies” to reduce his offending.
Lancaster has no prior convictions, according to Teesside Crown Court, and this is his “first appearance before a crown court.” Lancaster previously pleaded guilty to inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, specifically exposing her breasts and sending an image of them.
Lancaster’s crimes, according to Judge Howard Crowson, were “very serious offending” that spanned several years. He described the conversations as “flirtatious,” with him asking a child – who “thought she was taking to a teenager” – to show her breasts.
Lancaster “posed as a teenager” under false accounts, according to Judge Crowson, to satisfy his “sexual interest in girls.” Lancaster’s criminal behaviour was “consistent” and “predatory.
He was sentenced to two years and four months in prison for encouraging a girl to engage in sexual activity. Judge Crowson also sentenced the indecent images to concurrent prison terms.
Lancaster, of Birchwood Road, Marton, will face a sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements for the next ten years.
