UNREPENTANT PAEDOPHILE DALE HENDERSON BRANDED A DANGER TO SOCIETY
In September 2018, Dale Henderson, a resident of William Street in East Wemyss, was sentenced to six months in jail at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court after admitting to committing a sexual act in public on a bus traveling between Kirkcaldy and Leven.The incident occurred on May 22, when Henderson, aged 28, was returning home from a rehabilitation program called Moving Forward Making Changes, which is designed to help sex offenders address their behaviors.
During the court proceedings, it was revealed that Henderson had previously served a 10-month sentence in April of the previous year for exposing himself to two 11-year-old girls while working as a store assistant in Windygates.
Additionally, he had been convicted of possessing child abuse images, for which he was given probation.
Despite these prior convictions, Henderson was participating in the treatment program, which his defense solicitor, David Bell, argued was a step toward rehabilitation and believed would help address his offending behavior.
However, Sheriff Grant McCulloch was unequivocal in his judgment, describing Henderson as a “danger to the public.” The sheriff ordered Henderson to sign the sex offenders register for the next ten years and emphasized the seriousness of his repeated offending.
Sheriff McCulloch stated, “There is a significant issue which needs to be addressed and that is that you keep offending and doing so by offending of a sexual nature in the presence of young female children.
This particular offence took place on a bus when they were sitting across from you.
They were clearly there so you cannot pretend that they weren’t.” The sheriff further expressed concern over Henderson’s recent behavior, noting that he had only recently begun to understand the potential impact of his actions on victims.
He condemned Henderson’s conduct as shameful, degrading, embarrassing, and frightening for the victims.
The fact that the offence occurred while Henderson was attending the treatment program and after being released and recalled in relation to his previous prison sentence was viewed as particularly aggravating.
Sheriff McCulloch highlighted that while treatment can reduce the likelihood of reoffending, public protection must take precedence.
In a related incident from April 2017, Henderson, then aged 27, was convicted of exposing himself to two young schoolgirls in Windygates.
The girls, aged 11, had stopped at a local shop to buy sweets when Henderson, working behind the counter, pulled down his trousers, exposing his genitals intentionally.
The girls were visibly alarmed and left immediately, with one texting her mother about the distressing event.
The mother advised her to inform the headteacher, who then directed the family to contact the police.
Henderson denied the exposure charge, claiming he was not wearing boxers that day, but the court found him guilty after the girls testified.
Henderson’s prior conviction for possessing child abuse images was also considered, and he was sentenced to ten months in prison, with half to be served behind bars.
He was ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years.
The court commended the bravery of the victims for their courage in court, and a family member of one of the girls expressed outrage that the Windygates store, which employs many children, was knowingly operating with a convicted paedophile without proper supervision.
UPDATE -- REOFFENDER 10/07/2025 A Fife paedophile, who ignored a court order and continued to contact schoolgirls online, could be given an extended sentence or even sent to the high court for sentencing.
Dale Henderson, a prisoner at Perth, has previously served jail terms for sex offences, including touching himself in front of children on a bus on the way back from a sex offender rehabilitation programme.
He appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court by video-link from prison and admitted further crimes.
The pervert engaged in online relationships with five schoolgirls aged as young as 12 and 13 years old, including one in the USA.
He pretended he was a 15-year-old schoolboy and asked to swap naked photos.
In fact, he is a 35-year-old unemployed sexual predator.
Even after being sent back to prison, Henderson continued to send letters to one of the girls.
Sheriff Simon Collins called for reports and Henderson will remain in custody until sentencing on July 22 and warned a “substantial period of incarceration” can be anticipated.
He also said consideration will be given to an extended sentence and whether the case should be remitted to the high court, where longer sentences can be imposed.
Pretended to be schoolboy Henderson admitted possessing indecent images of children and extreme pornography featuring bestiality at his home in Cardenden Road, Lochgelly, last year.
He further admitted that having been put on a Sexual Offences Prevention Order on October 18 2022, he breached it on various occasions between April 1 2023 and November 15 last year by communicating indecently online with five female children, all under the age of 16.
Depute fiscal Lee Corr said a large number of electronic devices were seized in a police raid, including a mobile phone hidden down the back of a sofa.
More than 100 indecent images were found on the devices – including some in category A, the most depraved content – and more than three hours of video.
Included were a recording of a screen chat with a 10-to-13-year-old girl, naked in a bath, and four videos of extreme pornography involving a dog.
One of the girls he was contacting over a five-month period was 15 at the time.
He was portraying himself as a boy of the same age called Sean and told her: “You will eventually be my fiancé and then wife.” He would regularly send images of his penis and she replied with images of her breasts.
He sent her jewellery, clothing and bank transfers of between £5 and £100.
Another girl was 14 or 15 when Henderson called her “my girl, mine, mine, mine” and told her: “I wish I was there to strip you off and kiss you all over.” He made further sexually graphic comments about what he wanted to do to the child, including “tie you up and blindfold you”.
He sent letters from prison, writing: “I would take a prison term any day to make sure I met you baby.” He was also contacting a girl in the USA, who was 13 at the time, asking her to send sexual photos and videos.
He told another young girl: “I’m not like other guys, I’m not the type to perv over you.” Henderson’s previous offences include: - grooming a nine-year-old child after meeting her on TikTok; - touching himself on a bus in front of youngsters while returning from a sex offender treatment programme; - flashing primary school children taking part in “the daily mile” exercise class; - exposing himself to 11-year-old girls while working as a store assistant.
At a previous court case, a sheriff branded Henderson a “danger to the public.” —————————————————————————————————— A Lochgelly man has been convicted of offences relating to indecent images of children.
Dale James Henderson, 35, from Lochgelly, was sentenced at Edinburgh High Court on Monday, March 9, 2026.
He was handed a sentence of seven years and six months.
Detective Inspector Graeme Forbes said: “The nature and extent of Henderson’s offending was appalling.
In committing these crimes against child victims, and by accessing this material online, he is part of the process of child sexual abuse.
He is directly responsible for creating demand which contributes to the dreadful sexual abuse and suffering of the children in the images and videos he was viewing.
There is no hiding place for these offenders, and as a result of our extensive investigation, he now rightly faces a significant custodial sentence as the consequences of his actions.
