Lucas Richards, of Eddington Road, Nettlestone, appeared at the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, June 2.
The 19-year-old admitted to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to view sexual imagery, and five counts of making indecent photographs of a child.
The court heard the offences took place over a five-day period between October 20 and October 25, 2024.
Richards, who was already the focus of a police investigation, contacted the girl via Snapchat while pretending to be a 14-year-old boy, said Liz Miller, prosecuting.
His profile picture showed only part of his face to disguise his true age.
Messages sent by Richards quickly became sexual, with him telling the girl he would take her virginity.
He also told her he was in bed thinking about her and sent her an explicit image of himself plus a video of himself committing a lewd act.
Richards went on to ask the girl to send him photographs, including one of her in a swimsuit.
Police attended Richards’ home on December 15, 2024, where several digital devices were seized and examined.
Analysis uncovered that Richards possessed indecent images of children across all three categories, including category A — the most serious classification.
These comprised one still image and four moving images.
He also had three still and two moving images categorised as category B, and two still and one moving image, categorised as category C.
For Richards, who appeared with no previous convictions, Oscar Vincent said Richards had been affected by a number of personal factors.
Magistrates ordered a pre-sentence report to consider all sentencing options, including custody.
Richards was granted bail and will be sentenced at the Isle of Wight Crown Court on July 17.
