MAN JAILED FOR ATTEMPTING TO MEET 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL FOR SEX
A council gardener has been jailed after he was caught trying to meet a 12-year-old girl for sex.Michael Simpson, aged 37, had planned to meet his victim who was actually a police decoy at an Airbnb, where he was waiting when police confronted him at Aberdeen railway station.
Simpson believed he had been messaging a young girl from Edinburgh and had arranged for her to travel to meet him.
Court proceedings revealed that Simpson, with no previous convictions, pleaded guilty earlier this year and was sentenced this week.
The police sting operation began when Simpson started messaging the decoy on March 6 of the previous year, claiming she was 12 years old.
She was a police officer using the alias Laura.
The next day, Simpson sent her a sex act video, and their conversations continued, with him suggesting they meet up if she were ever in the area.
He even discussed what they would do sexually and arranged to meet her off the train on April 5, 2024, but was met by officers instead.
His phone contained explicit videos and a confirmed Airbnb booking for nearby accommodation.
Simpson admitted to intending to meet the child for sex, and he was sentenced to 27 months in prison and a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
During sentencing, his defence highlighted his struggle to accept his wrongdoing, and a suggestion was made for him to participate in a rehabilitative program.
The court noted his role as a landscape gardener with Aberdeenshire Council, and his job remains available upon his release.
