An Inverness man promised to buy an 11-year-old girl an Xbox if she would have sex with him in woods, a court has heard.
Kevin Napier, 31, also pretended to be half his age to try to get youngsters to send him naked images of themselves over Snapchat.
Today he received the maximum of 300 hours of unpaid work – but was warned he would be jailed if he stepped out of line.
Kevin Napier, of Blackthorn Road, Culloden, appeared for sentence at Inverness Sheriff Court after a background report had been prepared.
Schoolgirl turned up at the woods … accompanied by her mum
The court was told Napier made the sick offer to the schoolgirl on April 21 2020 but was caught when the girl turned up at the location accompanied by her mum and a friend.
The resulting confrontation was filmed on a mobile phone and he was reported to the police.
Previously the court was told that Napier used a false name on Snapchat to contact youngsters between January 1 2020 and January 30 2020.
Napier admitted sending sexual communications and meeting with a younger child with the intention of engaging in sexual activity.
Defence solicitor advocate Mike Chapman urged Sheriff Margaret Neilson not to send his client to jail.
“He has a childlike response to his behaviour and in prison his vulnerabilities would be exploited,” he said.
“The report recommends a stringent community payback order and he would be kept a very close eye on in the community. He has expressed to me some regret for the distress he caused to his victims and he does not wish to re-offend.”
Sheriff Neilson warned Napier that if he breached the unpaid work order in any way “there is only one alternative and it is you will be sent to prison”.