A man who sent a photo of his penis to a 14-year-old girl made a drunken “mistake” and does not need to be placed on the Sex Offenders Register, a court has ruled.
Connor Brown, from Aberfeldy, admitted firing off a series of obscene Snapchat messages to the youngster while she was at a slumber party.
After receiving an explicit photo, the girl wrote back: “I’m 14. Get a grip.”
Brown, 28, was originally charged with communicating indecently with the child, a breach of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act.
In April, prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to an alternative charge of sending the teenager indecent messages and a photo, contrary to the Communications Act.
Brown returned to Perth Sheriff Court this week for sentencing.
His case sparked a lengthy legal debate on whether his crime was “significant” enough to warrant being placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
Intoxicated
Fiscal depute Elizabeth Hodgson argued Brown’s repeated messages to the girl suggested there was a significant sexual element to the offence.
She said that placing him on the Register was not necessarily a punishment but would protect the public.
Solicitor Paul Ralph, defending, urged the court to consider the “wider picture”.
He said: “Whilst being drunk is not a defence, it can be considered as part of the circumstances when looking at the offence.
“He was a man who was sitting, intoxicated, on his own, in the early hours of the morning, sending off messages to the complainer.
“Unfortunately, the complainer has responded which has set off this chain of events.”
He added: “There is nothing to suggest a predilection towards deviance or a risk of sexual harm.
“There was a sexual element to the offence but it was not motivated by a significant desire.”
Reputation in tatters
Sheriff William Wood told Brown: “This has probably been a difficult time for you, facing this particular charge.
“I daresay living in a small community, your reputation will be in tatters.
“It will be a matter of considerable embarrassment.
“You sent a picture of your penis and clearly there is a sexual element to that. Why else would you do it?
“But the question is, was it sufficiently sexual that it reaches a threshold that requires you to be placed on the Register.”
The sheriff added: “It seems to me that there is no other pointer to indicate this was nothing other than a serious error of judgement, a mistake.
“I am prepared to find that there wasn’t a significantly sexual element to indicate that you have any underlying sexual disorder or deviance.”
Brown, who has since moved to Lammermuir Crescent, Haddington, was placed on supervision for six months.
“I do accept that this was a one-off,” said Sheriff Wood.
“But to prevent it happening again you would benefit from some education. I do hope we don’t see you here again.”
‘Really sorry’
The court previously heard how Brown added the girl on Snapchat and sent her messages that did not cause concern.
However, on the evening of March 6 2021, Brown told her he wanted to “come across the water” to “heat her up,” and added: “Get here now and I will give you a c*** to play with.”
Fiscal depute Stuart Hamilton said: “There were other messages of an inappropriate nature.
“It culminated in the accused sending a picture of a penis and part of a leg.”
The girl blocked Brown and, a few weeks later, told her mum what had happened.
When arrested, Brown told cops he thought the girl was 15.
He told them: “I’m really sorry for it all.”
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