A SUSPENDED sentence has been handed to a man caught sexually messaging children online.

Dave Hunt, 35, was charged with three counts of attempted to engage in sexual communication with a child between October 28, 2018 and January 29, 2019 in Kidlington as well as one count of possession of a pornographic image involving an animal and one count of possession of an indecent image of a child.

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He was sentenced at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (April 1).

Hunt, of Bampton Road, Clanfield, was handed a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

He was also made subject to notification requirements and a seven-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

There were court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £154.