A Dunfermline “predator” who sent explicit photos of himself to a 14-year-old schoolgirl on Snapchat has avoided a prison sentence.
Raymond Thomson posed in his underwear for the youngster and sent her a picture of his naked penis.
The girl received the unsolicited photos on her way to school.
Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard the teenager was too frightened to leave school at lunchtime in case she came face-to-face with her abuser.
He previously pled guilty to intentionally causing the girl to look at a sexual image, by sending photos of himself, on August 30 last year.
The 34-year-old returned to the dock this week for sentencing.
Sheriff Gordon Liddle told Thomson: “You are a predator.
“You prey on young girls an, to put it bluntly, you deserve a prison sentence”.
The sheriff said his difficulty was passing a prison sentence that would be “meaningful enough” because the maximum term available on summary complaint is 12 months, which he would have to reduce to eight because of Thomson’s plea.
He continued: “The net result, you would serve something like half of that – if that – in custody and then be free to continue with the activities or not you were involved in.
“It would be appropriate punishment to send you to jail but the question is more would that be a sufficient safeguard for the public against your disgusting activities and predatory activities? I am not sure.”
Snapchat horror
The court heard the girl had been on Snapchat before going to lessons and accidentally accepted a request from someone called ‘babynappiesyou’ through the ‘quick add’ section on the app.
Procurator fiscal depute Azrah Yousaf said the girl received a picture message from Thomson, showing his face and upper body, lying on the bed.
She recognised him from a local convenience store, where he worked.
A few minutes later the girl received another photo.
The fiscal said: “It showed a male with bare legs and boxer shorts, lying on the bed.
“At that point she was getting on the bus.
“A third image was a live image of his penis in the bedroom.
“She showed the image to a friend and text that account to say ‘WTF, dude, I am 14’.
“The accused replied to her he was 16 and she highlighted he did not look 16.
“He sent her a voice message asking what age she was and said in that ‘I am 13.’
“At that point the complainer recognised the voice of the accused and believed him to be in his 40s.
“She recognised him from the store she visited.”
‘Isolated’ accused
At school, the girl told a teacher about the conversation and showed a picture, leading to police being contacted.
Thomson, of Mackie Place in Dunfermline, was later charged.
Defence lawyer Martin McGuire said his client has been diagnosed as suffering from various conditions and intellectual disability but recognised his wrongdoing.
He said Thomson leads a “fairly isolated life”.
Mr McGuire said the author of a social work report carried out a risk assessment and is of the view Thomson can remain in the community with additional safeguards.
At an earlier hearing, another defence lawyer David McLaughlin said his client maintains he did not know the girl’s true age until told that by her.
Direct alternative to prison
Sheriff Liddle ordered Thomson to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work and placed him under offender supervision for 18 months.
As part of this, Thomson will have to adhere to specific conditions, including not making contact with children under 16 or accessing the internet without permission from a supervising officer.
Thomson was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
Sheriff Liddle made clear the community payback order is a direct alternative to custody.
For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our Courts Facebook page.
