Jail for preying on teenage girls on net

A serial sex offender who preyed on teenage girls online and repeatedly asked them to send nude photos to him has been jailed for 15 months.

Melbourne man Robert Paul McKenzie, 24, befriended the girls, who were aged between 13 and 16, via Facebook in 2009 and 2010.

He repeatedly asked them to send him naked photos of themselves, which two of the five girls agreed to do, the Victorian County Court heard on Monday.

McKenzie was also found with up to 350 child porn images.

Jailing McKenzie, Judge Meryl Sexton said his conduct was "predatory, persistent and manipulative".

She said the offending occurred at a time when sexting was big among young people.

The judge said the child porn images, which were found at McKenzie's Altona house, depicted nudity but no sexual activity.

She noted McKenzie had a difficult upbringing, had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and was still young enough to learn how to have age-appropriate relationships.

Judge Sexton jailed McKenzie for a further 15 months.

McKenzie has been in custody since 2010 on other similar matters and is a registered sex offender for life, the court heard.

He was due for release in July next year, but Judge Sexton extended his non-parole date until two years from Monday.

McKenzie pleaded guilty to five counts of procuring a minor for child porn and one count of possessing child porn.

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