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RICHARD BENNETT FROM ST FERGUS JAILED FOR ONLINE CHILD GROOMING IN PETERHEAD
In October 2010, a serious case of online child grooming resulted in the imprisonment of Richard Bennett, a 32-year-old farmer from St Fergus near Peterhead. Bennett was sentenced to eight months behind bars and was ordered to register as a sex offender for a decade after he was caught attempting to groom a girl he believed was just 14 years old.The incident came to light as part of a nationwide police operation targeting individuals who exploit the internet to prey on minors. Bennett, who resided at Kinloch Cottage in St Fergus, pleaded guilty in August to charges related to his online conduct. The police investigation revealed that Bennett had been actively engaging with a teenager on various social media platforms, including Faces.com, MSN Messenger, and private email exchanges, over a period of several months from June 26 to November 5, 2009.
During this time, Bennett, who used the online pseudonym ‘Fastracs,’ believed he was communicating with a 14-year-old girl from Edinburgh. However, it was later confirmed that the person he was chatting with was actually a police officer conducting an undercover operation. The police's ten-month investigation aimed to identify and apprehend individuals using the internet to groom children, and Bennett's case was a significant part of this effort.
Details of the case showed that Bennett's conversations with the teenager became increasingly inappropriate, with him sending sexually explicit messages and asking lewd, intimate questions. The court heard that Bennett’s actions were driven by his social difficulties; he was described as “painfully shy” and socially inept, often struggling to form relationships in face-to-face interactions. To overcome these challenges, Bennett turned to online communication, which he found less intimidating.
He was arrested on December 15 of the previous year, and during his court appearance at Peterhead Sheriff Court, his defense lawyer, Leonard Burkenshaw, presented a psychological report suggesting a different perspective on Bennett’s behavior. The report highlighted that Bennett was a first-time offender who had spent most of his adult life isolated, with limited social contact. His social anxiety and difficulty in establishing relationships were cited as reasons for his turn to the internet.
Burkenshaw emphasized that police had found no other inappropriate material on Bennett’s computer, and that his previous online interactions with females were all age-appropriate. He also noted that Bennett had arranged to meet the girl but never followed through with the meeting. The lawyer stated that Bennett had been open and honest about his actions, and that he had already sought help from his general practitioner and psychiatrist, being on maximum prescribed medication.
Despite these mitigating factors, Sheriff Marysia Lewis sentenced Bennett to eight months in prison. She also ordered that he be placed on license for 12 months following his release and registered as a sex offender for ten years. The sheriff acknowledged Bennett’s lack of prior criminal record, his mental health status, and the reports presented, but concluded that a custodial sentence was necessary in the public interest.
Commenting on the case, Detective Inspector Keith McDevitt, head of e-crime at SCDEA, stated, “Richard Bennett used the internet as a way of contacting young girls. He believed the internet was providing a cover for his predatory behavior, but this case should send a very clear message to other individuals who are using the internet for this type of criminal activity that law enforcement is also using the internet as a tool to identify who they are. We use a variety of tactics, techniques and technology to support our investigations to target perpetrators and bring them to justice.”