A Fife paedophile who repeatedly sent explicit photographs to an 11-year-old girl in England will “almost inevitably” be jailed.
HMP Perth inmate Derek Douglas appeared by video link at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Tuesday to admit two charges of communicating indecently.
In January this year, he messaged the Snapchat account belonging to a girl in England who he did not know.
She did not recognise his account name – Derek Douglas – but accepted his friend request and messaged asking who he was.
He replied with a photograph of his penis and asked: “Are you laughing?”
The girl replied: “No I’m crying” and told him she was only 11, before telling her adult sister.
The older sibling logged out of the account and logged in on her own device.
Douglas, 39, then began conversing with her.
He told the sister he though the picture would “cheer her up” as she was crying.
The sister asked who she was conversing with and Douglas replied with another picture of his penis.
Sting operation
Later in January, the sister deleted the account and set up a new one, posing as her 11-year-old sibling.
Douglas sent that account messages, repeatedly asking for photographs of the girl and sent more images of his penis.
He also sent videos of him committing solo sex acts.
The adult sister contacted Fleetwood Enforcers, a paedophile hunter group who arranged to meet Douglas at Cowdenbeath railway station on January 10.
There, he was confronted by fellow paedophile hunting group Shattered Silence.
He was arrested and taken to Dunfermline Police Station.
‘Particularly dangerous to young children’
Unemployed Douglas admitted two charges of communicating indecently from his home in Duncan Street, Kirkcaldy.
Solicitor Dewar Spence said: “Mr Douglas does not have any explanation to put forward as to why he was continuing when the girl says: ‘I’m 11.’
“He’s been in custody now for some time.”
Sheriff James Williamson ordered reports and deferred sentencing until August 11.
He said: “Even allowing the first communication to be by chance, the second can’t be, which means he targeted a child.
“The combination of these offences and your previous convictions lead me to the conclusion that you are a dangerous man, particularly dangerous to young children.”
He placed Douglas on the Sex Offenders Register and said it was almost inevitable he would be jailed.
Prior to this weeks hearing, Douglas had four sexual convictions on his record.
He was sentenced to nine months in prison in 2018 for possession of indecent images of children.
