A sex offender offered a 13-year-old boy money for nude photographs and sexual contact.
Iain Wright sent the boy a text message asking if he could carry out a sex act on him in exchange for £100.
In another, he asked “how much would it take” for a picture of the child’s genitals.
Wright, 29 appeared via videolink from custody at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit a charge of sending sexual written communications to an older child, as well as breaching a bail condition preventing him from having unsupervised contact with children.
He also admitted a charge of taking, permitting to be taken or making indecent images of children relating to content found on his mobile phone.
Fiscal depute Emily Hood told the court that on January 13 this year the 13-year-old was alone in the city centre when he met Wright – who he did not know – sitting on the ground near the alleyway outside Poundland on the High Street.
Wright, who had a donation cup and a backpack, told the boy he was homeless and during the conversation they exchanged telephone numbers.
On February 9 of this year the boy received a text message from Wright offering him £100 for the sex act.
Boy ‘felt uncomfortable’
Ms Hood said: “The complainer had a rough idea of what he wanted and knew it was something sexual. He felt uncomfortable and didn’t want to do anything like that.”
The boy then received a further message in which Wright upped the offer to £200. The boy again refused.
“The accused went on to send more texts asking for a pic and stating ‘£25o for a nude’,” Ms Hood told the court.
A later message offered £400 for a picture of the boy’s genitals.
The following day the boy revealed to support workers that he was planning to meet with a man who was going to give him £100 – but could not explain why.
One of them saw a text from the accused that read: “As discussed you will get £100.”
Sex offender met boy on bridge
The concerned staff followed behind the teen as he arranged to meet with the accused on the Greig Street Bridge.
They then saw the two together, along with a third party, before losing sight of the boy.
The meeting was captured on CCTV cameras.
The boy was later found at the bus station and indicated he had not received £100 but said he was “planning to meet the accused again in Tomatin”.
The matter was reported to police and Wright was arrested, cautioned and charged.
Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald also heard that in October of last year officers were carrying out a routine visit to the sex offender’s home and spotted images on a mobile phone which “raised concerns”.
The device was examined and two accessible category C images and eight inaccessible category C images were found – along with 94 images classified as “indicative” or “borderline”.
The young boys ranged in age from one to approximately 12.
Solicitor Marc Dickson confirmed that his client was currently “subject to registration” and suggested that Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald may wish to call for pre-sentencing reports.
Sheriff MacDonald called for a criminal justice social work report and an assessment for the Moving Forward 2 Change sex offenders programme.
She told Wright: “Clearly the court will have uppermost, I will have uppermost in my mind, a period of imprisonment for those appalling offences.”
She placed him on the sex offenders register in relation to these convictions, with the eventual length of registration to be determined at sentencing.