A 26-year-old man who sent a girl of 11 graphic sexual messages on Facebook and kissed her in a graveyard has been sentenced to a three year community order.

Tyler Toothill was arrested after the child was overheard in the school playground talking about her much older boyfriend, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Toothill, of Goodley, Oakworth, Keighley, pleaded guilty to a total of six offences, comprising two each of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, meeting a child after grooming and sexual assault.

Prosecutor Rebecca Young said the girl disclosed she had seen Toothill at a party and they began messaging on Facebook.

Miss Young said that in the space of a few days, Toothill and the girl met up twice.

First, they sat in a Keighley graveyard and kissed and held hands, and the second outing took them to the town’s beck where they again kissed and he told her to be careful because he did not want to go to prison.

The court heard that Toothill sent her photos of himself in boxer shorts and asked her to message him pictures of herself but she refused.

When interviewed by the police about the messages, Toothill expressed his utter horror and said he had been drunk at the time.

Toothill’s barrister, Sophie Drake, said he knew he needed help and had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

Judge Colin Burn sentenced Toothill to a three year community order with supervision and a requirement to attend the sex offender treatment programme.

He must register as a sex offender for seven years and a sexual offences prevention order was made for seven years.

He told Toothill: “What you did was just utterly wrong.”