But disgraced Colin Barfoot, 56, was actually being set up by a decoy who exposed his warped ulterior motives.
When Barfoot, of Durley Avenue, Waterlooville, was arrested by police in June 2020 he admitted relief after confessing he had found it ‘impossible to stop’.
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Fuelled by cocaine and alcohol, Portsmouth Crown Court heard the paedophile became involved in an online chat with the decoy, known as ‘Gracie’, that moved onto WhatsApp.
Prosecutor James Kellam said: ‘During the chat she repeatedly said she was 13 years old and goes to school. She was clearly a child.
‘The defendant asked her to send photos of her genitalia - he asked on several occasions.
‘He sent her photos and videos close up of [male genitals], which the defendant admitted was his own. At least one video depicted (a sex act).
‘He described sexual activity which Gracie might enjoy engaging in.’
When police turned up at Barfoot’s home he admitted he had enjoyed sexual gratification during the chats but said his heavy drinking and intake of cocaine had reduced his inhibitions leading to ‘self-loathing’ afterwards.
During the raid, Barfoot was caught with 462 indecent images of children in Category A, 282 in Category B and 258 in Category C. He was also found with 181 bestiality images.
The court was told many of the images were of children aged four to six years.
Daniel Reilly, defending, said Barfoot’s ‘frank’ immediate admission was ‘almost unheard of’.
‘He was glad to be arrested and see a forced end to this unhappy episode,’ the lawyer added.
Mr Reilly said Barfoot’s actions ‘snowballed’ with him finding it ‘impossible to stop’.
The defendant had taken steps to curb his ways after seeing a counsellor.
Barfoot was handed a 24-month jail term suspended for 24 months, told to complete six months of a drug rehabilitation course and 30 rehabilitation days.
He was also given a sexual harm prevention order and told to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.
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Barfoot admitted attempting sexual communication with a child, three charges of making indecent images of children, and a single count of having extreme pornographic images.