A DEESIDE man sent a series of highly offensive sexual messages and then tried to get other people to take the blame for distributing them, a court heard.

Mark Stuart Dixey harboured a sexual interest in children, Mold Crown Court was told, and his bizarre behaviour included luring victims by placing advertisements for teenage babysitters as well as sending a grossly offensive package to the police.

Among those he tried to implicate was a businessman from Connah’s Quay whose identity he assumed to commit most of his crimes.

Initially Dixey sent a package to Mold Police Station containing a DVD disc labelled 'Terminator', but it was one which contained child pornographyand he had fashioned it to look as if it had come from the businessman.

The unnamed victim said in a statement that he was “devastated” by the allegations, although he did not come under suspicion.

A mother from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, was not so fortunate and was arrested in front of her children after a letter was sent to her home by Dixey, who had purported it to be from the Welsh businessman.

It contained a fake message from “a father” who said he had committed a sex act with a child.

Dixey also demanded £50,000 from a woman he sent sexually offensive text messages to after she answered his ad for a babysitter.

Judge David Hale told Dixey he had caused “immense worry” to people who had done him no harm.

Dixey, 43, who admitted 16 charges, was told he will serve five years in prison and a further year on licence because of the seriousness of some of his offending.

He was caught when police traced an address in Connah’s Quay he had asked potential interviewees for the babysitting work to attend.

They also tracked a top up on a pay-as-you-go phone to Boots store in Shotton where Dixey was caught on CCTV making the purchase.

He had placed an advert in a Shotton newsagents seeking schoolgirls aged 14 to 17 for babysitting work at the rate of £10 an hour.

When an older woman responded he asked her to send him photographs of herself and claimed he was a WPC.

“She received a photograph of a penis in an offensive text message as well as several other offensive text messages later that day. He said he had a white car to pick up schoolgirls,” said barrister Anna Pope, prosecuting.

“His final message to her demanded ‘Pay £50,000 and I will leave you alone. I know where you live’.”

Dixey also sent sexually offensive messages to two other women, one a 19-year-old he bombarded with messages between February and September last year.

Initially, she thought her ex was responsible, but the messages continued before she blocked them, including one which tried to incite her to commit a sex act with a child.

Police traced the phone to an Argos store where Dixey was seen on CCTV buying a top-up.

The phones were found when his bedroom was searched. On two of the phones were lower end (Category C) indecent images of children.

Dixey, of Beaconsfield Drive, Shotton, admitted eight counts of sending messages which were indecent or grossly offensive to cause distress and anxiety. He also admitted two counts of making indecent images of a children.

He also pleaded guilty to three counts of perverting the course of justice as well as three counts of intentionally encouraging the commission of an offence with all the offences taking place between October 2016 and May last year.

Defence barrister Matthew Dunford told the court Dixey suffered with a range of health problems, including Klinefelter Syndrome, a chromosome disorder which affects cognitive development.

“His father passed away in 2013 and that seems to have had a significant impact on him,” said Mr Dunford.

“He is a of a low IQ and has very significant health difficulties and it is going to be hard for him in prison.”

The court heard Dixey had previous convictions for sending obscene material, perverting the course of justice and exposure, for which he received a suspended sentence in 2009.

Judge Hale, who also imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order as well as a restraining order, told Dixey: “This is a catalogue of rather perverse offending. There has been no explanation as to why you did what you did and no remorse.

“Against the background is the less serious but not dissimilar sorts of offences committed before but you didn’t learn your lesson from that.”

Dixey was also told to sign on the sex offenders register for life.

After the hearing DC Andy Hughes from North Wales Police said: “I’d like to thank all the witnesses and victims for their co-operation in bringing this case.

"I am pleased with the sentence as it will give Dixey time to reflect on the consequences of his crimes over next few years.”