A paedophile has been locked up after asking a teenage girl to send him indecent images via WhatsApp.

Kyle Pepperell, of Eastcourt Lane, Gillingham, exchanged several explicit messages with the young child, believed to be 13-years-old, between January and February 2021.

The 36-year-old requested images be sent to him via the texting app which he also used to share an indecent video of himself.

All messages were reported to police and Pepperell was arrested on March 5, 2021.

He was charged with three counts of attempting to commit a child sex offence, all of which he denied in Maidstone Crown Court on July 7.

The court found him guilty and sentenced him to five years and three months in prison.

DC Deniz Aslan, of the Paedophile Online Investigation Unit, said: “Criminals such as Pepperell should be under no illusion that online chat rooms and social media are a safe space for them to groom vulnerable young people.

“If you go online with the intention of committing a child sex offence, you will be arrested and sent to prison.”