A sheriff has told a sex offender to comply with court orders or go to jail after he was snared by an undercover police officer.
Neil Ross found the profile of what he thought was a 14-year-old girl and asked ‘her’ to send a picture “under her pyjamas”.
He also sent ‘her’ photographs of his genitals – and it was not his first such offence.
The 23-year-old appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing in recent days having previously admitted a single charge of attempting to communicate indecently with an older child.
He thought he was talking to ‘Sophie’
On that occasion, the court heard that Ross had a previous conviction for indecent images.
At the earlier hearing fiscal depute Naomi Duffy-Welsh said contact began on January 31 of last year.
She said: “The accused made contact with an account by the name of Sophie on Chat Avenue.
“The account ‘Sophie’ was, in fact, run by an undercover police officer.”
The court heard that the profile informed Ross “she was aged 14”, which he acknowledged.
Conversation turned sexual
But the young age did not stop Ross moving the conversation to Snapchat, where he quickly turned the conversation sexual.
Ross suggested that he was performing a solo sex act and asking ‘Sophie’ to see “under her pyjamas”.
Ms Duffy-Welsh said that Ross sent ‘Sophie’ four photographs of his genitals – with his bedding clearly visible in the background.
The undercover officer passed the information and logs to the National Child Abuse Investigation Unit and a warrant was granted for a search of Ross’s home.
During the search, bedding was seized – it matched what could be seen in the images sent to “Sophie”.
Ross also handed over his mobile phone to officers.
Analysis showed it to contain profiles matching those responsible for messaging ‘Sophie’.
‘You are still not getting it’
Solicitor Marc Dickson, for Ross, made the court aware that the possibility his client potentially had autism had been raised and was being investigated.
But Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald said those investigations would likely take time and said she would sentence on the information available.
She told Ross, of Heights of Achterneed, Strathpeffer: “It is clear to me that you are still not getting it.
”If you carry on with this type of behaviour you will go to jail.
“There is something going on, I am hearing from Mr Dickson that there may be some diagnoses in the pipeline.
”You are a young man – you have an opportunity to move away from this behaviour.
“You have to comply with what I am about to tell you.
“If you don’t, you will go to jail and I don’t think that is a place you want to go.”
She placed Ross on a community payback order with three years of supervision.
There is also a requirement that he participate in the Moving Forward 2 Change programme for sexual offenders.
Close monitoring of offender
The sheriff also imposed a sexual harm prevention order.
This limits his use of devices and access to the internet and preventing him from speaking with children without permission.
This was in addition to a community payback order that was imposed requiring Ross to remain under social-work supervision for three years.
Ross must also participate in the Moving Forward to Change programme for sexual offenders.
The sheriff added: “You are assessed as being at risk of further offending.
“Because of that I want you to be monitored quite closely over the next few years.”
She also placed Ross on the sex offenders register for three years.