A married father of two from Fife who dubbed himself “Papa Smurf” as he sent sexually explicit texts to a teenage girl has narrowly avoided a jail sentence.
David Kidd admitted sending the messages to a 15-year-old girl he called “Smurfette” in March last year. The court previously heard the messages described a variety of sex acts.
Kidd, of Dalgairn Crescent, Cupar, also arranged a secret sexual rendevous with the girl at Tarvit Hill in Cupar, although that meeting never took place as he was first reported to the police by the girl’s parents after they found the messages on her phone.
It later emerged the pair had exchanged numbers for a month after meeting while the girl was on a family outing in Perthshire.
Kidd’s defence solicitor said the 36-year-old had lost his job of 14 years as a result of the offence.
Addressing Kidd, Sheriff Charles Macnair said: “You entered into conversations by text with the complainer and while the complainer may have been involved as well, consensual is not the appropriate phrase.
“A child of that age is not deemed to be mature enough to give consent. You took advantage of her feelings and the way she was behaving. There had been an agreement to meet and have sexual contact. That did not take place because of the interview with the complainer.
“I take into account the fact there was no sexual contact however this is a very serious matter and I have just reached the conclusion to deal with this by way of a lengthy supervision order as the public will be less at risk.”
Sheriff Macnair sentenced Kidd to a three-year supervision order, on the condition that he attends a sex offender programme, and ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. He was placed on the sexual offences protection order and the sex offenders register, both for 10 years.
In addition, Kidd was told he must not communicate with children without the permission of the child’s parents or guardian who must be informed of his conviction and that he must also, whenever asked by a police constable, surrender his mobile phone or any internet-enabled device.
Picture by David Wardle