Body-worn footage shows the moment a registered sex offender was arrested after he was caught using a fake online profile to groom and abuse a child.

In October last year, Peter Johnson of Liptraps Lane, Tunbridge Wells, made “persistent and repeated” efforts to contact a girl using Snapchat, who told him she was only 13.

He also sent her a series of explicit images over several days, including a video of himself, under the alias Matt Harper.

Johnson, formerly known as Peter Austen, had been convicted of possessing indecent images of children in 2017.

For those offences, he received a suspended sentence and was added to the sex offender register for 10 years.

Now, the 37-year-old has now been jailed after he ignored previous measures imposed by the courts to prevent him from reoffending.

In October 2023, officers from Kent Police’s Offender Management Unit discovered Johnson was contacting another user who had said she was only 13.

What Johnson did not know is the child did not exist – her profile was part of a fictitious account.

Some of the images he sent to the account included his face and officers were able to recognise Johnson.

He was arrested on November 15 at his home and a phone was seized. Checks led to the discovery of an illegal image of a child in the most serious category.

Johnson was charged with engaging in sexual communication with a child, causing a child to engage in a sexual act, causing a child to view an image of sexual activity, making an indecent image of a child and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements.

He pleaded guilty and at Maidstone Crown Court on October 10 was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, having already served a year on remand.

When he has served his sentence, Johnson will be subject to a 12-year sexual harm prevention order and will have to comply with sex offender notifications for life.

Detective Constable Steph Kirkin said: “Johnson made persistent and repeated efforts to contact a child for the purposes of his own gratification.

“He made it explicitly clear that he intended to commit very serious sexual offences involving a young girl.

“We will do everything in our power to proactively target people who seek to commit sexual offences against children and ensure they receive a prison sentence.

“It is clear Johnson poses a risk to the public, and he now faces the consequences of his abhorrent desires.

“This case also acts as a reminder to parents of children who have mobile phones and tablets to speak to them and help them understand the precautions they should take when using the internet, or the many instant messaging services that are available.

“Children should only communicate with people that they know personally and report any suspicions or inappropriate advances from strangers to their parents, schools or the police.”