A man has been jailed for nine years for child sex offences and possessing fake identity documents after police traced his online sexual messages and video he sent to a 12-year-old girl and her school friends.

Samuel David Lopez Florez incited the schoolgirl to commit a sexual act and to watch a sexual image.

The 25-year-old was traced to his address in London’s East End after he sent a video chat ‘friend request’ to her, which she accepted and which gave him access to her ‘personal friends’ list.

He had bombarded her with messages of “an indecent nature” and pressured her to make an explicit video of herself, Snaresbrook crown court heard.

Police traced the material back to his home in Solebay Street in Stepney, where he was arrested.

They were alerted after the girl became distressed and told him she was breaking off contact, when he sent a video of her to her school friends on her chat list, which caused her alarm and distress.

He also sent other ‘friend’ requests to young girls on the list who accepted his request, believing him to be safe as he was listed as a ‘friend’.

“Lopez Florez targeted under-aged girls through social media to obtain sexual gratification,” Det Sgt Karen Bradley of the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation & Child Abuse Command said.

“He applied pressure to carry out sexual activity using material that had been sent to him.

“He has now been removed from society for a significant term.”

Lopez Florez also possessed a fake Italian identity card and counterfeit Spanish passport, officers discovered. The Mexican national was found to be an illegal immigrant who had overstayed his six-month visa which had run out in January, 2015.

He was sentenced yesterday after he had admitted when he first appeared in court in March to inciting a child under 13 to commit a sexual act and causing her to watch a sexual image, and to charges of possessing counterfeit identity documents.