FORRES MAN AVOIDS JAIL AFTER FALLING FOR PAEDOPHILE HUNTER STING
A man from Forres was spared jail after admitting to grooming a child due to being caught by vigilante paedophile hunters.Michael Hall, aged 24, appeared before Elgin Sheriff Court after confessing to the offense which occurred in July 2021.
Hall sat in the dock as prosecutor David Morton detailed the child's sexualized messages.
He was charged with contacting a woman he believed was a 12-year-old girl and trying to "obtain sexual gratification" from her between July 19 and 20.
The court was told Hall sent and instructed the decoy to perform sex acts and described sexual activities.
The decoy was a member of a paedophile hunting group, who set up a social media profile pretending to be a 12-year-old girl.
Initially, Hall's messages were non-sexual, discussing school and homework, but on July 19, they shifted to sexual topics, including pornography, which Hall wanted to explain to her.
The police were contacted after the decoy submitted evidence, leading to Hall's investigation and charge.
His solicitor, Stephen Carty, stated Hall had not offended since and pleaded guilty early in the process.
The sheriff described the case as "very sorry" and considered a custodial sentence possible.
However, due to his clean record, cooperation, and the offense being three years old, the sheriff opted for a community-based order instead of jail.
Hall was ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work, reduced from 270 for an early plea, and placed under supervision for 18 months.
He was also placed on the sex offenders register for the same period.
He is scheduled to return to Elgin Sheriff Court on September 19 for a review hearing.
