Former Sunderland nurse jailed for targeting 12-year-old girl on Facebook with sexual messages
A former nurse has been given a six-month sentence after targeting a 12-year-old girl on Facebook with "disgusting" sexual messages.
John Gibson, 51, formerly of Hastings Street, Sunderland, sent the child 37 sexual messages, demanding to see her topless and sending a photograph of his genitals.
Four days later he tried to engage in sexual communication with another girl of the same age but it was a decoy profile.
The former mental health nurse claimed he did it while having alcohol-induced blackouts.
He was previously jailed for three years and two months for the offences in relation to messages sent to a decoy account and was back in court to be sentenced for the offences against the real child.
A judge at Newcastle Crown Court added six months to the sentence he is already serving.
The court heard Gibson used a secret messaging service for some of the communications.
He asked if she was in bed and if she would send him a photograph, told her she was beautiful and sent her a picture showing his genitals.
Paul Cross, prosecuting, said: "She thought it was weird and felt disgusted. She put her phone on silent and blocked him and told her mother.
"Police were informed and he said he didn't know if he was guilty because he was full of drink at the time.
"He said he suffers blackouts and had previously sent messages to all Facebook contacts which resulted in him losing his job as a mental health nurse.
"When shown the messages he sent, he said he felt sick and guilty."
The child said in a victim impact statement: "I find this very difficult to talk about. It's made me wary of strangers in case this happens again.
"Straight afterwards I felt really down and stopped going out with friends and I no longer felt safe.
"I sometimes think about it and get upset but I try to ignore it. He took away my confidence."
Gibson was jailed for three years and two months last January after admitting attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
For the latest offences, he admitted two offences of engaging in sexual communication with a child.
Judge Robert Adams, who imposed the original sentence, added a further six months but told him he will only have to serve half of it in custody.
Fiona Lamb, mitigating, said he has completed a sex offender treatment course and has been working in the tailors department in HMP Northumberland.
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