An 'outsider' who lives a 'sad reclusive life' was snared by undercover police officers as he tried arranging to meet teenage girls for sex.
Michael McLernon, from Atherton, believed he was talking to three 13-year-olds online through the Kik messaging app in autumn 2019.
The 36-year-old told all three that he wanted to meet them and perform sexual acts, and urged the girls to keep their relationship private.
But McLernon was actually talking to undercover police officers.
Appearing at Bolton Crown Court alongside a social worker on Thursday (April 1), McLernon pleaded guilty to all seven charges against him.
The court heard that McLernon first approached an undercover officer, posing as a 13-year-old from London, on September 24, 2019.
Prosecuting, David Toal said McLernon did not get an immediate response, but after sending three messages they replied the next day and the defendant asked to exchange phone numbers.
In further messages, McLernon asked if she was 'ok with my age' before telling her: "You look older in your pic. Are you in school? Are you into older guys?"
Mr Toal told the court McLernon asked her if she would touch him and sent her four intimate images.
McLernon suggested the pair meet up in a cinema and proposed sexual acts they could perform.
He told her 'I wish I was your teacher' and went on to send a further 12 messages to her, which went unanswered.
On October 31, 2019, McLernon turned his attention to another girl, who was an officer undercover as a 13-year-old girl.
The court heard that McLernon first told her he was 17 before confessing his real age and telling her 'she was not to say anything to anyone'.
McLernon went on to ask 'if she would touch him and suggested the pair could have sex in a disabled toilet.
He went on to send 13 messages referring to her as his girlfriend, but she did not respond.
McLernon had also been messaging another undercover officer, posing as another 13-year-old girl, from October 16, 2019.
He told her if anyone asked how old he was that she should say he was 16, calling it 'our secret' and telling her 'I hope no one can see your screen at school'.
McLernon discussed meeting her in a hotel room and asked for intimate photos.
He went on to send explicit messages and referred to her as his girlfriend.
Defending, Colin Buckle said his client McLernon had 'struggled to develop socially' and spends much of his time 'alone in front of his computer'.
He told the court that McLernon - who has no previous convictions - is a carer for his brother and had previously been in a 'healthy relationship' with a woman, but this didn't last.
Mr Buckle said: "He is an outsider in life. He is secluded in his own mind in many ways.
"He has never left home, he has always been cared for by his mother.
"He has never really been able to spread his wings and mature in a way that somebody his age might and that would lead him away from this type of offending.
"This is the type of defendant who is going to find the custodial environment as difficult, as challenging and as frightening as any defendant."
Officers arrested McLernon on November 4, 2019, and searched his property - where they found two phones that had been used to send the messages.
They also discovered a pen drive, which was used to store 148 videos of extreme pornography.
McLernon pleaded guilty to three counts of sending explicit communications to someone believed to be under 16, three counts of attempting to insight a child into engaging in sexual activity, and one count of possessing extreme pornographic material involving animals.
Sentencing, Recorder Stan Reiz QC told McLernon: "You live a sad and reclusive life. You have medical conditions which cause you anxiety and I am told you have never lived away from home.
"It may be the case that you lack maturity and you have under-developed social skills.
"However, whatever your issues are, there is absolutely no justification for this sort of sordid conduct involving children.
"The gravity of these offences together is such that appropriate punishment can only be achieved by imposing an immediate custodial sentence."
McLernon, of Flapper Fold Lane, was sentenced to two years in prison - but told he would serve a maximum of one year before being released on licence.
He must also sign the sex offenders register and was handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, while he has been banned from working with children.
The two phones and pen drive that were seized by officers will also be destroyed.
