January 2018 Pervert sent indecent videos and photographs of himself to a 10-year-old girl A man who sent indecent videos and photographs of himself to a 10-year-old girl via Instagram was caught out after her shocked dad pretended to be her. Zackary Kirkwood sent the child several images after using a false name and giving her the impression he was 14 – but was given a suspended sentence and escaped being sent straight to prison. He asked the girl to send him images of herself but she refused, and when her father learnt what had been going on he contacted Kirkwood using a different account, pretending to be his daughter. Unsuspecting Kirkwood, of Cockerell Close, Kirkdale, then sent on more images and he was arrested last February, prosecutor David Polglase told Liverpool Crown Court. 23-year-old Kirkwood, who admitted the offences but denied that he had a sexual interest in children, was told by a judge that reports show he posed a high risk of harm to children unless steps were taken to address his offending behaviour. Mr Polglase told the court that Kirkwood sent three videos and four still images of himself performing a sex act to the girl’s Instagram account, using the name Danny 14, despite knowing she was only 10. The judge, Recorder Gary Woodall, said intervention was the most appropriate course to protect the public and help Kirkwood’s rehabilitation. He sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered him to attend an intensive sex offenders’ treatment programme. He also ordered him to carry out 180 hours unpaid work and sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years. The judge imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for seven years. He pointed out that since the offences the girl has “become quiet and withdrawn and her father has become over-protective, and that has caused frustration and arguments within the family.” Kirkwood pleaded guilty to two offences of causing a child to watch a sexual act and two further offences of attempting to engage in sexual activity in the presence of a child. The images were deleted but her dad found out about them and contacted Kirkwood from another account on August 22, 2016 pretending to be his daughter. Kirkwood sent at least two videos and two still images, again showing him performing a sex act, and claiming to be 15. The police were informed, he was arrested last February and he admitted sending the images.