An Andover man with learning difficulties has avoided jail again after he pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, who was in fact an undercover police officer.

Callum Bates, 25, of Camelot Close, was also sentenced for possession of a taser, which he claimed was for self-protection from neighbours.

Prosecutor Lisa Bowles said Bates first made communication with an undercover police officer pretending to be a 13-year-old boy on April 2 on a platform named FabGuys.

She added that on the same day Bates sent a Snapchat message and said he would like to have “naughty pictures” of the boy.

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Ms Bowles said: “He commented, ‘Obviously have to be careful, because of your age’. On April 4, again, the defendant asked for nude pictures of the boy. During the interaction on Snapchat, the defendant sent a picture of himself.”

Bates was then arrested, and several electrical devices were seized, including a Samsung mobile phone, which had Snapchat.

She added that the matter of the taser was first informed by Bates himself when he made a call to the police on July 10 noting concerns about harassment from one of his neighbours.

He mentioned that he had purchased the taser from Temu for self-protection. Bates said he didn't know what to do with it, and on July 15 he surrendered it to police.

Defending, Lucy Conroy said Bates, although he is 25 years old, is not functioning at the level of a 25-year-old.

“He does not enjoy the life of a 25-year-old,” Ms Conroy said.

“He is somebody who is exceptionally socially isolated. He lives at home with his mother. He is exceptionally vulnerable by virtue of his diagnosis and mental health position.

“He is somebody who does not have a partner, so he has no outlet for the sexual feelings and emotions that a young man will ordinarily have. His world exists entirely online.”

She added that Bates had registered his online accounts and passwords with his monitoring officer.

Ms Conroy also requested the judge to consider that no or lesser harm was made because the sexual communication attempts were made in a case where a child doesn’t actually exist.

She further said Bates had used the taser only on himself as part of a self-punishment when he lost online games.

The judge was also told that sending him in jail would not help his rehabilitation and mental wellbeing.

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The prosecution service added that it would struggle to support his mental health requirements when he is in custody.

Sentencing him, judge Timothy Mousley said it was not an easy case.

“On the basis of two serious offences, against the background of having committed similar sexual offences in the past and breach of orders, my conclusion was that imprisonment was an appropriate sentence,” he said.

“But having listened to the arguments, for practical reasons, there is no point in ordering an immediate custodial sentence. Nor in imposing a suspended custodial sentence because you have breached that and you served four months in remand.”

He was subsequently sentenced to a community order for 18 months that includes the requirement of 40 days rehabilitation activity. He will be placed under sexual harm prevention order for a further five years.

The court also ordered the forfeiture and disposal of the taser.