An Adelaide man who founded a network promoting online safety has been jailed for at least 12 months for grooming and exchanging nude pictures with teenagers online.

Key points: Russell has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison

Russell has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison He pleaded guilty to procuring a child for sexual activity and possessing child exploitation material

He pleaded guilty to procuring a child for sexual activity and possessing child exploitation material He was nominated for the Young South Australian of the Year award in 2017

District Court Chief Judge Michael Evans sentenced William Russell, 25, to two years and six months in jail with a non-parole period of 12 months.

Russell, who has an intellectual disability, was a finalist in the Young South Australian of the Year awards in 2017 for his work is setting up the Teen Support Network.

He previously pleaded guilty to procuring a child for sexual activity and aggravated possessing child exploitation material.

Russell featured in a newspaper article in August 2017 and spoke about how as soon as he logged online, children would ask him for nude photos.

Judge Evans said it was that article that led to police raiding his home and then criminal charges.

"You were featured in a newspaper article, entitled 'Beware of the web creep'," he said during sentencing.

"In the article, you are quoted as saying, that within minutes of logging into a site with your personal profile, you had teenagers as young as 13 looking for nude pictures of you.

"You were also quoted as saying that a 15-year-old boy from Blakeview asked to meet up with you and have sex.

"On August 31, 2017, following publication of that article, police searched two premises at Blakeview and Findon where they suspected you had certain electronic devices."

Russell asked boys to send him nude photos

Judge Evans said police found the devices and conversations where Russell had requested nude photos from boys.

"There were also conversations with other children, attempting to organise to meet and engage in sexual conduct," he said.

"Police located chat threads with boys of various ages, including those purporting to be 15 or 16."

William Russell will spend at least 12 months in jail for committing child sex offences. ( ABC News )

Judge Evans said in one chat, Russell encouraged a 15-year-old boy to send nude photos before arranging to meet in a park to "kiss and hug".

He said he did not meet up with any of the boys, saying he accepted that Russell got "cold feet".

Judge Evans said given current legislation, he was unable to suspend the sentence or order it be served on home detention.

He said Russell — who was working as a pizza delivery driver — suffered from an intellectual disability, which meant he was unable to experience victim empathy.

The Teen Support Network was shut down earlier this year.