'Very dangerous' Plymouth man jailed for grooming girls on Snapchat

Anthony Davies, 33, pretended to be a 15-year-old boy on Snapchat to groom his young victims

A "very dangerous" man in his thirties who pretended to be 15-years-old to groom three young girls on social media, has been jailed.

Anthony Davies, 33, from Plymouth in Devon, used Snapchat to convince 12 and 13-year-olds to send him sexual photos.

The judge described Davies as a "deceitful" and "very dangerous man" when jailing him for nine years at Plymouth Crown Court.

Davies admitted four counts of inciting children to engage in sexual activity.

He also admitted four breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

The court heard Davies, of Redhill Close, was previously jailed in 2007 and 2014 for similar offences and possessing indecent images of children.

Davies befriended and persuaded his three victims, two 13-year-old girls and one 12-year-old girl, to send sexualised photos of themselves.

'High Risk'

The court heard he never sent pictures in return because they would show he was not a 15-year-old boy.

A probation officer told the court Davies poses "a high risk of harm to children, particularly girls in their early teens".

Davies was also given a lifelong SHPO and put on the Sexual Offenders' Register for life.

While sentencing, Judge Robert Linford described Davies as a "deceitful" and "very dangerous man" with "distorted thinking".

He said: "You pose a significant risk to cause serious harm to members of the public, particularly children, of further sexual offences."

The judge told Davies the victims were left "devastated by your appalling behaviour".

Davies was told he will receive an extended four year sentence should he fail to get parole or commit a crime following release.