Paedophile hunters posed as a delivery driver to snare a Moray man on his doorstep after he started sexualised online chats with two decoys.
David Penney, 56, thought he was chatting to girls as young as 13 but was actually communicating with adult volunteers working with online groups who expose offenders.
After pretending to be delivery drivers in order to get him to open the door of his Keith home the volunteers passed the information on to police – who Penney had already called to get rid of the paedophile hunters on his doorstep.
Penney appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit two charges of causing persons pretending to be underage girls to receive sexual communications.
The court heard court that Penney began communicating with an adult posing as 13-year-old “Isla” on September 25 2021.
’13-year-old’ decoy asked ‘intimate questions’
Sheriff Sara Matheson heard that Penney would ask the decoy intimate questions about her nipples, bra-wearing and how he would like to see more of her.
But fiscal depute Pauline Gair told the court that Penney ended the chat site conversation a few days later “and appeared to block her number”.
Mrs Gair said that the second decoy was set up by another vigilante group under the name of Chloe and Penney contacted her on January 26 2022.
Once more he asked her about wearing a bra, said he would like to see her topless, enquired about her nipples and asked if she had seen a man’s penis.
“He ended the conversation 24 hours afterwards but the groups traced him by posing as a delivery driver with a damaged parcel for him,” Mrs Gair said.
“They got his address and when they went to his door, it was filmed and broadcast live on social media,” Mrs Gair said.
She added that Penney himself contacted police about what was happening and when officers arrived, the group representatives handed over their dossier on him.
Sheriff Matheson deferred sentencing on Penney of Main Street, Newmill, until February 27 for a background report and a restriction of liberty order assessment.