A judge said: "He should have known better"
The career of a children’s services team manager is in tatters after a covert police operation trapped him indulging in sexual chat with what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl.
But disgraced David Atkinson has escaped being jailed despite pleading guilty to attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.
Atkinson, 42, of Red Lane, Burton Green, Kenilworth, who also admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, was sentenced to eight months jail suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to take part in a rehabilitation activity, carry out 180 hours of unpaid work, register as a sex offender for ten years, and to pay £500 costs.
Recorder Balraj Bhatia QC observed that, as a team manager in Leicestershire County Council’s children’s services department, Atkinson "should have known better".
