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A Kuwaiti asylum seeker who messaged what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl has avoided prison after claiming, "I didn't know I was doing anything wrong."
Fahad Al Enaze, 31, sent sexual texts to paedophile hunters posing as an underage girl, according to The Sun. Living in a Liverpool migrant hotel, he was caught by the Widnes Parents Against Predators group in September 2024.
He pleaded guilty to attempting sexual communication with a child at Warrington magistrates' court on Friday.
Prosecutor Chelsea Kearns said Al Enaze sent explicit messages to the decoy child and, upon arrest, told officers, "I didn't know I was doing anything wrong."
Kuwait raised its age of consent to 18 in March 2024, allowing sex only within marriage. Previously, men could marry (and have sex) at 17 and women at 15 with parental or judicial consent.
The court heard Al Enaze persisted in asking for photos after learning her supposed age, quizzed her on sex, and suggested he could "teach her everything" in a relationship.
He received an eight-month suspended jail sentence for 24 months, plus a sexual harm prevention order and 10 years on the sex offenders register.
Al Enaze must complete 25 rehabilitation days, 300 hours of unpaid work, and pay £272 in costs and surcharge.
Magistrate JP Paul Chadwick called him "very lucky" to avoid custody, adding: "In this country we take these offences seriously. You should be truly ashamed of yourself."