A man who engaged in sordid sex chats with 'girls' he thought were under the age of 16 has been jailed.

David Holberry, 30, was caught by a paedophile hunter group sting group after telling fake accounts set up by them to bind their feet together and put socks in their mouths. 

Swindon magistrates ruled that his offences were so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified because he posed a high risk of harm to others and his sexual communication had "violent undertones". 

Holberry of Whitworth Street, Old Town, pleaded guilty to two charges of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and was sent to prison at Swindon Magistrates' Court on May 9. 

At a hearing in Swindon on October 5, 2023, the court heard how between August 26 and August 31, 2021, Holberry intentionally attempted to community with two people he 'did not reasonably believe to be 16 or over' for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification. 

But what he did not know was that these two girls were in fact fake profiles set up by a paedophile hunter group. 

And it was during the sex chats he had with these two accounts he thought belonged to underage girls that Holberry instructed both of them to tie their feet together and to put socks in their mouths. 

He was arrested back in 2022 and was subsequently charged for two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. 

Following that hearing, he was instructed to register as a sex offender at Gablecross Police Station within 72 hours.

He has now been jailed for four months and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which will be in effect until May 8, 2031. 

During the time this order is in place, Holberry, can no longer own any electronic device capable of accessing the internet without informing police. 

He cannot have any electronic device that doesn't retain the history of its use and he must make it available to police if questioned, and he cannot withhold any passcodes or passwords from them. 

He also has imitations of his social media usage and cannot interact with anyone under the age of 18 online unless it is unavoidable in daily life the parent or guardian of that child has consented and knows of his conviction.