A man posed as a girl on the internet to trick a teenage boy into meeting him.
William Porritt, 32, of Kingsley Avenue, Crosland Moor, had seen the 17-year-old before and described him as “cute” to someone else.
He then exchanged messages with him while posing as a girl called Tara having faked a profile in that name complete with a girl’s picture.
Philip Standfast, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court that Porritt persuaded the teenager to send a photo of himself unclothed and the youth, thinking it was to a girl around his age, did so.
Porritt then asked to meet the youth near Huddersfield Library around 9.45pm one evening in July last year. The complainant went still thinking his contact was with a girl.
When no one appeared he sent messages asking where she was and was told to expose himself because she was watching.
But after doing so he was approached by Porritt who claimed that his actions had been captured on security cameras, that he would end up in court and on a sex offender’s register, terrifying the teenager.
Mr Standfast said Porritt claimed he could get the security guards to lose the film asking what that was worth to the youth, effectively starting to blackmail him.
He suggested the teenager might buy him some beer and when the youth said he was too young to do that, suggested to him he exposed himself again.
At first the youth refused but eventually went with Porritt to an alley where he was ordered to commit a sex act.
The teenager was distraught at what he had been made to do and told his mother what had happened.
When Porritt was arrested he said he had previously sent nine or 10 messages to other people using the girl’s profile and had suggested to four of them they meet him at Lockwood Railway Station but had not then gone himself.
Catherine Silverton, representing Porritt, said it might be considered a strange and worrying case since he could not explain his behaviour. He felt disgusted and ashamed at his actions that night and his deception posing as “Tara.”
She suggested he could be helped by courses in the community.
Porritt admitted causing a person to engage in sexual activity and was jailed for 15 months after Judge Rodney Jameson QC said his threats to the teenager were cruel taking advantage of his vulnerability.
