A 25-year-old Dublin man has been jailed for six-and-a-half years for sexually exploiting a young teenage girl online.

The court heard Darragh Meehan from Dargle Wood in Knocklyon asked his victim to be a friend on Facebook before engaging with her over Skype.

Meehan was 19-years-old and the victim was 13 when they first met in Dublin in 2011.

He then asked her to be a friend on Facebook before they began communicating via Skype and texting.

Meehan then asked the teenage girl to perform or watch certain sexual acts via Skype on different dates over five months.

They also met up once in Dublin where he sexually abused her.

The gardaí were notified when the victim’s mother found concerning messages on her laptop.

Judge Patrick McCarthy said the victim was at a vulnerable age when these offences occurred – she was an adolescent - he said - which is a difficult time of psychological and physical changes.

He noted the accused Darragh Meegan pleaded guilty, has no criminal convictions until now, and said he is unlikely to offend again in the future.

But he said the punitive element of the sentence must be significant and jailed him for six-and-a half years.

He has also been placed on the sexual offenders register.