Man encouraged girl, 11, to send him naked photos and 'engage in sexual acts'

A man encouraged an 11-year-old girl he met online to send him indecent photos. Robert Skensberg, 27, began chatting with the girl, who was pretending to be 18, in August 2020.

He encouraged her to take and send him indecent photos of herself, as well as encouraging her to perform sexual acts on herself, Manchester Crown Court heard. He faced trial earlier this year for more serious offences, but was acquitted of all of them.

Skensberg, of Prestwich, pleaded guilty to causing a child to engage in sexual activity online, sexual assault of a child and possession of cannabis. Today (June 22) he was sentenced to a community order.

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The court heard that Skensberg had met the girl online where they briefly spoke before he encouraged her to send him the indecent photos. They then met in person where they embraced ‘intimately’ at Wolverhampton railway station.

He was arrested a day later and police found a small quantity of cannabis for his personal use. The girl presented herself to be 18, and Skensberg believed she was not less than 16, it was said.

There was also no evidence of ‘paedophilic tendencies’ following an examination of his mobile phone, prosecutor Alaric Bassano said. Skensberg was said to have no previous convictions on his record.

In a victim personal statement, the girl’s father said he had experienced ‘difficulties’ with her, as well as ‘challenging behaviours’. Mr Bassano said: “It is not all attributed to the defendant, far from it.”

Mitigating, Keith Harrison said: “I don’t seek to minimise the gravity of the offending. He expresses significant remorse.

“He has managed to hold down a job and stable