91Èȱ¬

A man who sent a 13-year-old girl "utterly inexcusable" naked pictures of himself has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Ryan Malloy, 29 and from Gateshead, said he was on drugs when he sent the girl images of his genitals on Snapchat in August 2022, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

His victim said the messages made her feel angry and upset.

Malloy was jailed for eight months suspended for two years and ordered to complete 120 hours unpaid work after admitting sending sexual communications to a child.

Prosecutor Gabrielle Wilks said Malloy initially followed the girl on Instagram and posted flame emojis on her pictures.

He then sent her messages on Snapchat which disappeared after two or three seconds.

The girl did not at first realise what the pictures were, but when she did properly see them she told her mother who recorded them before they could disappear, Ms Wilks said.

Malloy initially denied having Snapchat, but police found the app had recently been deleted and a password for logging into it was saved on his phone.

In a statement read to the court, the girl said it had been nearly two years but it "still played on [her] mind".

She said her feelings had been "all over the place" and she was angry and upset.

Judge Nathan Adams said Malloy claimed he was using crack cocaine at the time, but told him the messages he sent were "wholly inappropriate" and "utterly inexcusable".

Malloy, of Park Terrace in Swalwell, must sign the sex offenders register for 10 years and obey a restraining order banning him from contacting the girl for life.

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