Aaron Hughes, 23, who at the time was staying in Rhyl, was also convicted of possessing 140 indecent images of children, some of whom were as young as two, which he had downloaded from the internet.

Mold Crown Court heard Hughes had taken pictures of the partially naked 13-year-old girl, taking advantage of her while she slept.

He was jailed for two years for taking the pictures of the 13-year-old, and was given a consecutive 15-month sentence for downloading 140 images, with 33 of those in the most serious category.

Hughes received an additional six months for breaching a suspended sentence, making a total of three years and nine months, and was ordered to register with the police as a sex offender for life.

Judge Timothy Petts said: “You denied responsibility throughout and indeed you sought to blame a friend for this offending.”

The judge said Hughes had concealed evidence by hiding it away on his phone, and there were a high number of indecent images downloaded from the internet.

“For every image, there is a child out there who is a victim of abuse,” said the judge.

He had committed offences over a period of time and continued to offend after his first phone was seized by the police, the court heard.

Prosecuting barrister Sion ap Mihangel said the images were found in a secret file on one of two Samsung mobile phones seized by police during
two separate searches.

Hughes claimed one of the phones was not his, despite the fact it said “Welcome Aaron to your new phone” when it was switched on.

He alleged his friend had set it up on purpose to implicate him before also accusing him of taking pictures of the girl as she slept.