ABERDEEN MAN NARROWLY AVOIDS JAIL AFTER ONLINE CHILD GROOMING STING
An Aberdeen man named Michael Watt, aged 42, has been placed on the sex offenders register after being caught in a sting operation where he was messaging a decoy posing as a 14-year-old girl.Watt was observed covering his eyes and shaking his head as details of his crimes were described in Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Prosecutor Emma Peterson revealed that the decoy had been working for an unnamed online child protection group under the pseudonym ‘Brooke,’ which listed her age as 14 on her Facebook profile.
Watt first made contact when he sent her a friend request, which she accepted, starting a communication that moved to WhatsApp.
Brooke immediately informed Watt of her age, and he acknowledged it.
They exchanged selfies, and Watt expressed admiration, calling her beautiful, and even shared his personal details, including his name and date of birth.
The conversations, which began on October 20, 2024, escalated by October 26, with Watt repeatedly expressing his affection for Brooke, claiming he loved her, and saying he would wait until she was older.
During the exchange, Watt made inappropriate comments, stating he liked her topless photos, asked for explicit images, and commented that he wished to marry her and be with her in bed.
Following the decoy’s report to police, Watt was identified and arrested.
He was convicted of causing a child to receive a sexual and indecent communication.
His lawyer described him as 'isolated and lonely,' requesting a community-based disposal, but the judge sentenced him to a Community Payback Order with supervision for 12 months, 100 hours of unpaid work, and registration as a sex offender.
The sheriff warned that failure to cooperate could result in a custodial sentence.
