September 2015

Man swapped naked pictures with girl, 14

A 19-YEAR-OLD man narrowly avoided prison after admitting downloading naked images of a 14-year-old girl and sending her similar images of himself.

Michael Melia, of Hartshead Street, Lees, pleaded guilty to five charges of making indecent photographs of a child at Oldham Magistrates’ Court.

He was sentenced to a five-year sexual harm prevention order.

The court heard how Melia was in a “virtual relationship” with the 14-year-old girl, whom he met on the internet.

She willingly sent him pictures of herself and he did likewise, between November last year and this February.

The two had been talking for around a year.

Kerry Bell, prosecuting, said in December the girl’s father spoke to her about somebody she had met on the internet.

He could see she had naked pictures of a man and sent naked pictures to a man.

She sent them, but not under pressure. But at 19 he should have known better.”

Melia was in court also accused of breaching a restraining order for an harassment offence admitted earlier this year, against a different victim.

Melia had made more than 80 attempts to contact the other party, an adult.