PAISLEY MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SENDING SEXUAL MESSAGES TO UNDERAGE GIRL
A man named Steven McGarry was unmasked as a sex offender after investigation by vigilante group Wolfpack Hunters UK.He used the Skout messenger app to communicate with someone he believed was a girl under the age of 13.
McGarry, aged 49, engaged in a series of explicit messages with the decoy, who was posing as a nearly 13-year-old girl named Ava.
The court heard that McGarry began messaging the decoy, who was created and operated by Karen Ferry, a member of the vigilante group, suspecting she was young.
During the conversations, McGarry brought up sexual intercourse and requested inappropriate images, despite being four times her age.
The decoy account was shut down after the suspicion of underage activity was raised.
McGarry admitted to sending messages of an indecent and sexual nature to a woman he believed was a child, with the offences occurring between February and May 2018 from his address in Paisley.
He sent a photo that later helped police identify him.
Sheriff Seith Ireland called for background reports to be prepared ahead of sentencing and indicated that McGarry would be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.
He was scheduled to discover his sentence on December 6.
