A MAN sent sexual messages to children across the New Forest.

Joshua Lee Towns sent "highly sexual" messages to a child he believed was younger than 16-years-old.

Following a police investigation, it was revealed that the 21-year-old also had "sexualised conversations" with another two New Forest children believed to be under 16.

Appearing at Poole Magistrates Court, he was charged with three counts of engaging in sexual communication with children.

He previously denied the offences which happened between October 2018 and May 2019 in the New Forest area.

Towns, of Slinn Road, Somerford, Christchurch, was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He will be subject to a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was ordered to pay a £140 victim surcharge and £85 in costs.

Following the sentencing, Police Constable Jonathan Kennett, said: “In a day and age where social media is so prevalent in young people’s lives, and the ease in which messages can be sent by people unknown to them, it is incredibly important that we, as the police, are in a position to investigate such offences.

“An extensive two-year investigation has now concluded, and I would like to thank all those involved in the case, whose hard work and dedication, has resulted in a person being brought to justice for the offences they have committed.

“We want to continue to protect any vulnerable people, including young children, against possible sexual exploitation and I hope that this conviction shows the lengths that we will go to investigate any such claims.

“I also hope this sentence will alert others, as well as the parents of young children, to the dangers of the digital world and also encourage any victim of child sexual abuse to come forward and speak to us, no matter when it happened.

“We take allegations of this nature extremely seriously and will always seek to bring those responsible for committing these offences to justice.

“We would encourage anyone who has been a victim of child sexual abuse to contact police on 101 where you can speak with our specialist detectives in confidence.”