Paul Pickering pleads guilty at Mildura Magistrates Court to grooming a 13-year-old girl using a popular mobile phone app.

A 52-year-old Mildura man who groomed a 13-year-old girl using a popular mobile phone app has wept in court as his vile offending was revealed.

Paul Pickering was sentenced to six months in prison

A 52-year-old Mildura man sent graphic images of his penis to a 13-year-old girl via Snapchat, along with sexually explicit messages over a period of time in 2022.

Paul Pickering, pleaded guilty at Mildura Magistrates Court on Thursday to charges including grooming a child under the age of 16 for sexual conduct and attempting to commit an indictable offence, namely involving a child in the production of child abuse material.

He was sentenced to six months behind bars, and a two-year community corrections order upon his release.

Court documents outlined how Pickering sent explicit messages, including one of his erect penis, to the victim via Snapchat and persistently tried to coerce the victim into sending nude images of herself.

The victim reported the offending just days later after consulting with friends.

Paul Pickering pleaded guilty to his vile offending at Mildura Magistrates’ Court on Thursday

A subsequent police search of Pickering’s home found several incriminating items, including the Samsung device he had used to commit the offences.

Analysis of the device found concerning web search history and accounts for several chat sites.

Pickering was supported in court by family members.

At different times throughout proceedings, Pickering was crouched over with his head in his hands and openly wept several times.

Magistrate Patrick Southey was not moved when sentencing, however, saying general deterrence was foremost in his mind when handing down his sentence.

Mr Southey went on to call Pickering’s offending, “calculated, persistent, and predatory,” before adding that it was, “a massive fall from grace,” for Pickering.