A 48-year-old man from Exeter was arrested after a paedophile hunter group confronted him at his home, a court heard.
Darren Jackson was confronted by the vigilantes at his home. He told them it was all a mistake, adding that he was probably smoking weed and playing on his Xbox at the time.
But he carried on offending while on bail.
Jackson, of Walpole Close, admitted multiple offences of communicating and attempting to communicate with children online, and of making indecent images of children by downloading them. Some of the children he contacted were decoys and some were real, Exeter Crown Court heard.
He faced prison when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court, but the judge said new sentencing laws meant the prison sentence could be suspended. Probation will try to rehabilitate him.
Prosecutor Philippa Harper said a Totnes-based paedophile hunter group confronted Jackson in August 2022. They had evidence he was sexually communicating with two decoy children online, despite being told they were aged 13 and 14.
In 2024 police received a referral from Snapchat that an account had uploaded an indecent child image. Jackson was arrested again and devices seized. Indecent images in all three categories of seriousness were discovered, said the prosecutor.
A couple of months later Jackson was back online, this time communicating with real schoolgirls. He asked for sexual images but did not receive them.
Jackson is a man of previous good character. Zoe Kuyken, defending, said he had tried to get help for his mental health and to change his behaviour.
Judge Stephen Climie said a year ago Jackson would have been jailed. But a change in the law meant that prospects for rehabilitation could now have sentences of up to three years suspended. He said a sentence of two years and eight months, suspended for three years, was appropriate.
Jackson must do 240 hours of unpaid work. He was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and register for life.
Exeter Man Arrested After Paedophile Hunter Confrontation