August 2015 Internet paedophile targeted young girls who he bullied & exploited A 27-year-old paedophile from Exeter has been jailed after he posed as a schoolboy on social media sites and bullied a schoolgirl into sending him topless pictures of herself. Daniel Thorne threatened to mock up naked pictures of the 13-year-old girl and post them online unless she complied with his demands. The victim only realised his true age when he sent her pictures of himself in which she could see he had a beard. He was already a registered sex offender who defied a ban on contacting under age girls by grooming the girl online and asking her to visit him in Exeter to have sex. He was branded as a danger to the public after a Judge was told Thorne sees nothing wrong with having sex with under age girls and contacted the girl shortly after finishing a sex offenders’ course. Thorne, aged 27, of Prince Charles Road, Exeter, admitted breaking a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (Sopo) and making an indecent image of a child. He was jailed for three years with a seven year extended licence by Recorder Mr Ignatius Hughes, QC. He told him:”You told the probation service you felt like a child trapped in a an adult body who preferred the friendship of young girls. It is wholly unacceptable for you to satisfy your predilection by communicating with children and seeking to have sex with them. “The probation officers says you are self focused and immature with little regard for the consequences of your actions. You groomed this child while pretending to be a boy of 15 and talked about sexual things. “You asked for explicit pictures of her of this 13-year-old and eventually got them after threatening to superimpose her head onto a naked body and post it on the internet. “In my judgment you are a dangerous man with a strong conviction you are entitled to have sexual relationships with children. “You went through a sexual offenders’ treatment programme without any effect on your outlook.” Miss Janice Eagles, prosecuting, said Thorne was made subject of a SOPO after being convicted of having indecent images of children in 2012. He contacted a 13-year-old girl on the internet and groomed her to send an image of her breasts. The police were called after her brother saw sexual content on her phone and alerted her mother. The girl was 12 when first contacted on social media by someone who claimed to be called Dan and aged 15. He eventually sent her naked images of himself in which it was evident he was an adult because he had a beard. When police asked him if he was a danger to young girls he replied ‘only if their parents are not with them’.