A man who sexually communicated with a 14-year-old girl has been given a three-year probation order.

Matthew Leonard Kilpatrick, 31, of Sycamore Avenue in Sion Mills, County Tyrone had pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual communication with a child. He further admitted to inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing indecent images of a child.

Kilpatrick had messaged the victim to say he wanted to see her naked as well as sending her a picture of his private parts.

The judge told Kilpatrick, who has "intellectual limitations'' a three-year probation order would "protect the public" and "effect your rehabilitation".

He appeared at Dungannon Crown Court, sitting in Belfast on Tuesday.

The judge said the offences came to light in March 2024, when the victim's mother had confiscated her mobile phone and came across live messaging taking place on Facebook from another computer.

The court heard that Kilpatrick first made contact with the girl online in October 2023 and was told she was 14, before contacting her again in February 2024, and the conversation later "turned sexual" and the judge said "it was your assertion that 'I really want to take you to bed'. You asked if she was a virgin".

The court heard Kilpatrick sent her a picture of his private parts and asked her to video chat whilst naked and asked for a picture of her bra.

The judge told the court: "You said to her that you 'wished you could join her in the shower,' adding that Kilpatrick had said he wanted to see her breasts.

"Again, this is just a 14-year-old child.''

The court was told that a few days later he messaged her to say he wanted to see her bra and to see her naked and discussed a sex dream about her.

He was told by the judge: "You knew from the outset that you were much too old for this girl who was under the age for any sexual activity.

"You also knew, it seems to me, that you might find yourself in legal jeopardy, saying on February 3, 2024, that you 'hoped the girl didn't report me on Snapchat'.''

The court heard the girl had also sent Kilpatrick moving and still images which related to the two charges of possessing indecent images of a child.

The court heard that Kilpatrick had encouraged the girl to hide her phone, to create a passcode and not to disclose it to her mother.

The judge said the impact of Kilpatrick's offending on the young girl was "significant''.

In a victim impact statement to the court, she said the offending had placed limitations on her freedom of movement, the impact it had on her education, the impact it had on her relationships with her peers and also her "anxiety around men''.

"This is far from being a victimless crime simply because it occurred online," said the judge, adding that he was mindful that Kilpatrick did not meet the girl and the offending took place over a relatively short period.

He added that he had a ''raft of papers'' before him all dealing with Kilpatrick's "vulnerabilities''.

A report from a clinical psychologist said he had a moderate learning difficulty.

In a further report, the defendant was described as a "significantly vulnerable individual''.

A Probation Board pre-sentence report said that Kilpatrick had "limited insight and accountability for his actions'' which added to the risk of this offending happening again and he was assessed as being highly likely to reoffend.

The judge concluded that Kilpatrick had "intellectual limitations'' which had some impact on his culpability.

"Moreover, those intellectual limitations also impact on the risk of future offending which is something of profound concern to me.

"There would be little opportunity for you to address your established and significant deficits after a relatively short custodial sentence and these deficits must be addressed.

"These are difficult cases for the court as they cry out for condign punishment but the balance in my mind has to be in favour of public protection which is the most important consideration."

He said the matter would be best dealt with by way of a three-year probation order to protect the public and aid rehabilitation.

Kilpatrick was made the subject of a five-year SOPO (Sexual Offences Prevention Order) and put on the sex offenders register for an identical period.

The court granted a destruction order for the indecent images and all devices seized.