A MAN who used threats to get a 14-year-old Salisbury girl to send him indecent pictures of herself has been spared jail.

David Franklin, 20, contacted the youngster, who knew him from the local area, on Facebook and struck up an online friendship with her.

But the messages soon became sinister as he told her he would harm her sister if she did not do as he told her.

Rob Welling, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court Franklin, of Fordingbridge, first made contact on Facebook and then via WhatsApp, and that he started to make requests that the child was uncomfortable with, he said, and then became menacing.

“He asked her to send him a photograph of her breasts under threat that he would hurt her family, her sister, even perhaps himself. She complied with that,” he said. “A second request, to send him a picture of her vagina, she declined. I suspect it was that that caused her to raise the alarm bells with her friend.”

Mr Welling said police were informed after the girl told her friend about the pictures.

When Franklin was arrested his phone was seized but he was unhelpful and would not grant police access to the device, which officers are still working on.

He admitted two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Emma Handslip, defending, said he has autism and borderline learning difficulties and is now in a stable home placement where he will have support until 21. She said that he is aware that what he did was wrong but said there was a lot of merit in him receiving help in the community.

The court heard he had been in foster care since a child and had ADHD and a low IQ along with other issues.

Passing a three year community order Judge Robert Pawson said “What you did was very serious.

“You had committed two sexual offences where you caused a child who was only 14 years of age to perform a sexual act.

“That included taking a photograph of themselves. Even with the difficulties you have Mr Franklin you should have known better.”

He must also abide by a three-month curfew with rehabilitation activity and register as a sex offender.

But after hearing the 20-year-old had a number of issues and there was a prospect of him being rehabilitated in the community he imposed a community order.