KILWINNING SEX OFFENDER AVOIDED JAIL FOR INDECENT MESSAGES TO 'GIRL UNDER 13'
A KILWINNING sex offender who sent indecent messages to a 'girl aged under 13' has avoided jail.Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard that Mark Wright was "struggling badly with loneliness" when he engaged in inappropriate conversations with the child - who transpired to be a 'decoy'.
The 45-year-old returned to Kilmarnock Sheriff Court this week having previously pleaded guilty to a pair of charges in relation to matters.
He admitted attempting to communicate indecently with a child he believed to be under 13, with the username 'aliceisbored', though this was actually an adult named 'Officer Alice' pretending to be a child.
It is stated he did so on October 28, 2024, by intentionally communicating with her in a sexually explicit manner.
Court papers say that Wright did so "for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification or of humiliating, distressing or alarming" the girl.
On the same date, the Kilwinning man - of Winton Avenue - also admitted attempting to cause the same child to look at a sexual image by sending her a link containing a photograph of a naked penis.
Sentence was deferred following Wright's last court appearance so background reports could be prepared, and he returned with these now available.
His solicitor highlighted that Wright had no previous convictions and no other outstanding matters.
He explained that Wright had a positive work history but is now unemployed due to the incidents.
He had recently lost his partner in July 2024 and was struggling with loneliness, which contributed to his misconduct.
Sheriff Nicola Patrick decided not to send Wright to prison, citing his lack of previous offences and remorse.
Instead, she ordered a community payback order for two years, including supervision, 200 hours of unpaid work, and placement on the sex offenders register for two years.
The court warned that any failure to comply could result in imprisonment.
