A car valet told a 14-year-old ‘girl’ she was ‘sexy and gorgeous’ then asked an underage boy if he was ‘straight or gay’.

Brendan Malone, 56, thought he was talking online to two children. But the profiles to whom he sent sexually-explicit messages were, in fact, operated by volunteers working for vigilante group Saving Our Children Online.

Prosecutor Charles Digby told Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday that Malone offered to pay for a taxi so one of the ‘children’ could visit him at home, instructing her to lie to her mother about where she was going.

The conversation with the girl, who purported to be 14-years-old, began with the defendant telling her she was ‘sexy and gorgeous’.

He asked her questions about her life, whether she had a boyfriend or had ever watched pornography.

The online pervert asked her for pictures of herself before warning her against telling others about their conversation.

He also asked the girl for pictures of others in her life, including her mother, and asked whether she shared a bathroom with her sister and what she wore in bed.

Mr Digby said Malone told the youngster that, if he was younger, he ‘would be happy to be her boyfriend’.

He sent the girl a picture of a man holding his genitals, although it was unclear whether the appendage belonged to Malone.

At one stage, he questioned if the girl could ‘keep a secret’ and invited her to stay-over at his home. It was suggested he had offered to pay for a taxi or her bus fare so she could visit.

The second child targeted by Malone was a profile supposedly belonging to a 13-year-old boy.

The defendant asked if he was ‘straight or gay’. When the conversation moved to WhatsApp, an encrypted messenger app, he sent the ‘boy’ sexual messages. He asked whether he liked to shower with other boys, talked about sex acts and sent the boy a pornographic video.

Malone was arrested on April 14 after the vigilante group called the police.

When police arrived to arrest him, Malone showed them where they could find explicit DVDs with titles including ‘Student Bodies 2’ and ‘Bare Lessons’.

Interviewed the day after his arrest, he made full admissions to the police officers.

Malone, of Wilsdon Way, Kidlington, pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court to attempting to meet a girl after grooming and attempting to incite a boy to engage in sexual activity. He had no previous convictions and was working in 'car valeting', the court heard.

Judge Michael Gledhill QC jailed him for two years and imposed a 10 year sexual harm prevention order. He will be on the sex offender register for a decade.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward