A 36-year-old Wellington man who groomed and sexually exploited two pre-teen girls online, while pretending to be a child himself, is going to prison

Benjamin Woods has been sentenced in the Wellington District Court, to six years and five months jail time.

Our newsroom can reveal Woods obtained and shared hundreds of images and videos depicting explicit child sexual abuse - and boasted about his abilities while talking to other online predators.

He'd also targeted a third girl.

The court's heard his victims felt broken, scared and unable to trust others as a result of his offending.