DONALD SUTHERLAND FROM PETERHEAD JAILED FOR GROOMING GIRL USING FAKE FACEBOOK PROFILES

In a disturbing case that has shocked the community of Peterhead, Donald Sutherland has been sentenced to prison after orchestrating a manipulative scheme to groom a young girl through social media. The incident unfolded in March 2016, when Sutherland, aged 27, created two fictitious Facebook profiles under the aliases Alex Buchan and Sinead Brook. His intent was to establish contact with a 13-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and exploit her innocence.

Using these fake identities, Sutherland bombarded the young girl with explicit images, attempting to manipulate her into responding. He then explicitly asked her to send private images of herself, which she eventually did after being persuaded by him. The girl, overwhelmed and unsure, initially tried to ignore the messages but eventually felt compelled to continue communicating with the fake profiles, believing she was engaging with real individuals.

The situation escalated late into one night when the girl and Sutherland engaged in an extremely graphic sexual conversation. Despite her initial reluctance, she ultimately sent Sutherland a photograph of herself, along with another image she had copied from the internet. The girl’s mother, unaware of the deception at first, later discovered one of the messages on her daughter’s device. Shocked and distressed, she contacted the police immediately.

Law enforcement officers swiftly traced the fake accounts back to Sutherland after discovering both profiles were registered to the same email address. This crucial link led to his identification and subsequent arrest. During police interviews, the girl’s mother expressed her profound upset and disappointment upon learning that Sutherland had falsely presented himself as different individuals.

At Aberdeen Sheriff Court, Sheriff Graham Buchanan sentenced Sutherland to 13 months in prison for two serious offences under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2003. The court found that Sutherland had engaged in a pattern of manipulative and sexually explicit communication with the underage girl, which included persuading her to send explicit images and exchanging sexually explicit written messages. In addition to his prison term, Sutherland was placed on the sex offenders’ register, reflecting the gravity of his actions and the breach of trust involved in this case.