A 51-year-old man from Middelburg has been sentenced to two years in jail, eight months suspended, for the sexual abuse of two underage girls and an attempt at grooming.

The facts came to light when the man, thinking he was chatting with a 14-year-old girl, made proposals of a sexual nature and sent a photograph of his erect penis to what turned out to be his son, posing under the name “Annabella”.

He also proposed the two meet. That did not happen but “the nature and content of the chat showed the man was intent on making a date to have sex,” the Telegraaf quoted the court as saying.

The son had suspected his father of contacting and grooming young girls and this confirmed his suspicions in what must have been a “shocking” discovery, the court said.

The online chat with his son also revealed the man had had sex with a 14-year-old girl and got a friend of his daughter’s touch his penis during a sleepover. He was also found to be in possession of child pornography.