A pervert who sent a teenager sexually explicit texts and plied him with alcohol has been locked up

William Dunn, 54, who is also known as William Campbell, also gave the boy jewellery, cash, and requested he send him intimate pictures.

The offences, committed in Chatham between July and August last year, were reported after the boy's mother found the messages on his phone.

The messages sent by Dunn were sent under the name Billy Stewart.

Following an investigation, officers seized Dunn’s computers and found a number of indecent images of children.

They also found he had been living under a fake alias.

Dunn claimed he was 49-years-old and was named William Campbell.

Dunn, who is of no fixed address but has links to Chatham, Hamilton in Scotland, Sussex, Blackpool and the Isle of Wright, was jailed for 22 months at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday, April 27.

He pleaded guilty to sexual communication with a child and possessing indecent images.

Investigating officer DC Emma Allison said: "Campbell groomed the young boy to gain his trust with alcohol and money and then used that influence to take advantage of him.

"This included constantly contacting the victim with sexually explicit messages, encouraging him to delete their conversations, and to lie to his mother about the jewellery he gave him.

"He has never shown remorse for his actions and tried to hide his true identity from the police.

"We actively investigate such offences and strongly encourage victims suffering at the hands of predators, or who have suffered in the past, to get in touch. You will have our full support."

Jasmine Watkiss, an NSPCC spokesperson for the South East, said: “Dunn is clearly a dangerous predator who manipulated his young victim into sending images of himself for his own twisted gratification.

“This kind of grooming can ruin childhoods and the NSPCC believes it is far too easy for predators to groom children online with devastating effects.

“Our #WildWestWeb campaign is calling on the Culture Secretary to force social media companies to use technology to flag up grooming behaviour to moderators and warn children before they are abused.”

Any child concerned about inappropriate behaviour online can call Childline for advice on 0800 1111 or use the 1-2-1 chat service via www.childline.org.uk