Pervert took pictures of girl playing naked in fountain

But Onismo Zhakata, from Whitecross, has walked free from court – despite having also been caught with a stash of vile pictures and videos on his mobile phone.

Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Tuesday, that a member of the public was sat on a bench on Horsemarket Street in June last year when he spotted the defendant nearby on another seat.

The 43-year-old was observed leaning forward with his phone pointing towards a group of children playing in a water fountain, and could be seen zooming in on his camera taking pictures of a naked youngster.

Zhakata – of Whitecross Road – was then confronted over his behaviour, with the girl’s mum and police on patrol nearby informed of what had happened.

He initially apologised for his actions, but offered a bizarre explanation for them under interview following his arrest.

The care assistant claimed that he had been on a video call with his family, who had raised concerns that the asthma sufferer’s lips had turned white.

Following this interaction, he stated that he had been attempting to take a selfie but was struggling to see the phone screen due to the bright sunlight.

He said that he was attempting to adjust the brightness of the display, but had instead zoomed in on his camera.

Zhakata’s phone was seized by officers, with an indecent video and six extreme pornographic images involving animals found during a subsequent analysis of the device.

It was also discovered that he had snapped three pictures of the nude youngster in the street.

Meanwhile the movie, which was found in his deleted items, had been sent to him in a group chat on WhatsApp and was allegedly a clip which had gone viral in Africa and showed a nanny being caught on camera abusing a child.

Zhakata, who has no previous convictions, denied ‘getting any sexual gratification’ from these materials.

A statement from the girl’s mum, who was present in the public gallery, was read to the court and described how the incident had left her feeling ‘physically sick’ and added: “You hear about this on the news but don’t think it will happened to your daughter.”

Mark Pritchard, defending, said: “The problem is that he is clearly having some issues accepting responsibility for his offending.

“What you have at the moment is someone with a low number of images.

“Perhaps early intervention would stop a habit from forming.

“It may well be in this case that the balance falls in favour of rehabilitation in the community rather than immediate custody.

“He does have some insight into the distress caused and how upset the mother was.

“Clearly he needs intervention sooner rather than later and he isn’t going to get it in custody.”

Zhakata admitted taking indecent images, possession of indecent images and possession of extreme pornographic images during an earlier hearing and was handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for a year.

He was also handed a sexual harm prevention order and a notification requirement, both lasting 10 years, and must complete 80 hours of unpaid work.

Sentencing, judge Garrett Byrne said: “You were in Warrington town centre sitting on a bench using your phone surreptitiously taking pictures of a group of children. You zoomed in on a three-year-old child.

“Your conduct understandably caused the mother to become very upset.

“What concerns me in your case is that you maintain that you have no sexual interest in young children, but your conduct in this case and the presence of the category A video has led me to conclude that you are very much in denial about your behaviour.

“This is a serious matter.

“There is no compelling mitigation other than your good character.

“The court must consider whether it can suspend this sentence.

“On balance, and it is finely balanced decision, the notification requirement and sexual harm prevention order will help to mitigate the risk that you pose and I am willing to suspend this sentence.

“If you breach this order by committing any further offences or failing to comply with the requirement, I have to warn you that you will be brought back here before me and I will send you straight to prison.”

A rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days was also imposed on Zhakata, who was told to pay a victim surcharge.

Forfeiture and destruction of the phone was ordered.