A Glenrothes man who was snared by paedophile hunters after sending pictures of his penis to a “schoolgirl” has avoided being sent to prison.
Patrick Stanley, 55, previously admitted causing someone he believed to be a child to view the sexual images and communicating indecently with them.
The fake account he was communicating with was set up in the name of a fictional teenager called Poppy.
The account was actually being run by an adult woman operating as a paedophile hunter.
‘It’s a wee bit on the big side for mine’
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard previously Stanley sent pictures of his private parts and made reference to having sex with someone he believed to be a child in April this year.
Paedophile hunters from West Lothian-based group Shatter The Silence (STS) then confronted Stanley at his home in Meldrum Court, Glenrothes.
In a filmed confrontation – shared on Facebook – he denied knowingly speaking with a girl he believed to be 13 on the social media site.
He went on to claim his phone had been hacked and there were seven viruses on the device.
The woman filming told Stanley: “You right away said if only you were 16, I’d send you a picture of my c**k.
“But… the ‘hackers’ actually sent a picture of your c**k.”
Stanley told the camera operator he did not have any photos “of that” and when shown a picture of the explicit image he sent on the paedophile hunters’ stream, he said: “It’s a wee bit on the big side for mine.”
The video has been viewed more than 130,000 times on Facebook.
Sentencing
Stanley appeared in the dock for sentencing last week.
Defence lawyer David Bell said his client now accepts he did send the image and it is an “extremely embarrassing situation” for him.
Mr Bell said Stanley clearly had a drink problem and reference to family tragedy had been made in a social work report.
The solicitor said his client had a fairly limited criminal history and is someone who “does not have much contact with the outside world” and he cares for his mother.
Sheriff Timothy Niven-Smith told Stanley it was important to highlight this was a non-contact sexual offence but research indicates likelihood of someone like him moving on to commit a contact sexual offence.
The sheriff said, having regard to Stanley’s personal circumstances, he would not send him to prison.
He was sentenced to a two-year community payback order which will involve requirements such as getting approval from a supervising officer to be in the company of anyone under the age of 16 and for access to the internet.
Stanley was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for two years.
