Harrogate man jailed after sending explicit pictures to who he thought was 12-year-old girl

Jason Carl Veal, 33, of Harewood Road, thought he was talking to a 12-year-old girl over a social media platform, but he was really talking to an undercover investigator.

In January 2023, Veal sent a friend request to the “girl” via SnapChat, and began sending explicit sexual videos of adults performing sex acts on themselves and encouraged her to do the same.

At one point he believed the girl was at school and encouraged her to use the toilets to carry out the sex acts.

He was arrested by officers a few weeks later and charged with the following offences to which he pleaded guilty:

- attempting to cause/incite a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activity – penetration

- attempt to cause a child under 13 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity

- attempt to engage in sexual communication with a child

He appeared at York Crown Court on March 1 where he was jailed for 30 months.

The court also ordered him to register with the police for an indefinite period and issued him with ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Detective Constable Kirsty Sullivan, from the North Yorkshire Police Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: “Irrespective of who he was really talking to, he clearly believed he was communicating with a 12-year-old and that is of great concern to us.

"The language he used was disgusting and the images repulsive.

"The Online Child Abuse Investigation Team works proactively and sometimes covertly to identify those who pose a risk to children."