Mark Mengham 62

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POLICE have vowed to protect vulnerable people from "sexual exploitation" after a security guard was sentenced for sending sexual images to a "13-year-old girl".

Mark Mengham, 60, of Alfred Close in Totton, was given a nine-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

A court heard how he had been messaging what he thought was a 13-year-old girl on the mobile app, Badoo.

He was later arrested for sending sexual images and asking for naked photos of the girl, which was in fact a decoy profile.

He was also ordered to complete 40 rehabilitation sessions, pay a victim surcharge and court costs and register as a sex offender for the offences committed in December 2020 and January 2021.

Following the sentencing at Southampton Crown Court on Friday police have vowed to continue their work to protect vulnerable people.

Detective Constable Paul Hills said: In a world where people have the ability to exchange messages through a variety of social platforms with people across the country unknown to them, and further afield, with relative ease, it is vitally important that we, as the police, are in a position to investigate if we believe that criminal offences have taken place during these exchanges.

We want to continue to protect any vulnerable people, including young children, against possible sexual exploitation and I hope that this conviction shows the lengths that we will go to investigate any such claims.

We hope that todays sentencing highlights the dangers that can be lurking on social media when engaging in people you do not know."

Mengham was also handed a sexual harm prevention order to last for the next five years.

It came after he pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child to watch/look at an image of sexual activity.

DC Hills added: "This case serves as a reminder, and to also alert the parents of young children, that the digital world isnt it all it seems.

"People may be seemingly acting innocently in exchanging messages initially, but that this can very quickly change, taking a turn to often dark, often sexualised, conversations and messages.

We want to encourage any victims of child sexual abuse to come forward and speak to us, no matter when it happened.

Hampshire Constabulary take allegations of this nature extremely seriously and will always seek to bring those responsible for committing these offences to justice."

Anyone who has been a victim of child sexual abuse is encouraged to contact police on 101.