A Doncaster man escaped a jail term at Sheffield Crown Court today after admitting to sending explicit messages to online profiles of girls he believed to be 12 and 13-years-old.

In April 2020, Cael Jones, 28, of Hall Gate, Doncaster, was caught by undercover police using fake profiles on Kik – an online messaging service – to catch sex offenders.

After receiving a message from one of the accounts telling him she was a 12-year-old girl, Jones sent an explicit photograph and then explicit messages to the account, which included graphic sexual details.

Another account used by police posing as a 13-year-old girl received further explicit messages from Jones.

In June 2020, police officers exercised a search warrant and arrested Jones, who gave them a full account of his actions.

Jones pleaded guilty on two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and one count of attempting to engage a female child in sexual activity excluding penetration at Doncaster Magistrates’ Court before today’s sentencing.

Representing himself in Sheffield Crown Court, Jones said: “I was not aware of what I was doing and I know what I did was wrong.”

He also denied getting any sexual gratification from the messages.

His Honour Judge Slater told Jones he would avoid a prison sentence due to his remorse and the fact he was “ready, willing, and able” to work with probation officers.

Instead, the Judge handed down a community order of three years, including a rehabilitation programme for up to 65 days. Jones was also banned from ever working with children, and his computers will be regulated for the next five years.

Judge Slater told Jones if he breached the conditions of the order, he would be called back to Crown Court and face jail.